Which is the scarcest resource in Malta?

Money, some might say! Indeed, there is never enough.

Our geographical reality as a small island right in the middle of the Mediterranean, subject to the challenge of climate change, makes water the scarcest resource of them all. So much so that according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Malta ranks 172nd out of 180 countries worldwide in terms of water availability per capita, just edging out desert regions such as Saudi Arabia and Libya. No wonder the Maltese Church has urged the faithful to pray for rainfall.

Our natural water supply is extremely limited due to the shortage of rainfall and the sensitivity of our groundwater resources. For almost 30 years we have employed relatively expensive technology to convert seawater into fresh water, a process that consumes considerable amounts of electric energy. Given that, unfortunately, to date Malta depends totally on fossil fuel, this process has become increasingly expensive with the result that families and enterprises are asked to pay a hefty surcharge to subsidise this operation.

And yet, reverse osmosis water still accounts for only one third of the total amount of fresh water consumed in Malta today. The other two thirds comes from groundwater - a resource that is diminishing at an alarming rate. Furthermore, it is often assumed that illegal extraction of groundwater now exceeds regulated extraction.

We cannot continue to extract groundwater even if we wanted to. The European Union's Water Framework Directive (transposed into national legislation through Legal Notice 194 of 2004) obliges the Malta Resources Authority to "take all the necessary measures to protect, enhance and restore all bodies of groundwater with the aim of achieving good groundwater status by the end of November of the year 2015". In real terms this means a cutback from the current extraction rate of more than 33 million cubic a metres a year to a sustainable yield of only 15 million cubic metres a year.

Clearly, this obligation calls for immediate and determined action. But maybe just not to stir the water before the election, the authorities will simply do nothing about it. The unfortunate thing is that it might be too late when deadlines elapse and fines start kicking in.

Given this scenario, one would logically expect us to go to great lengths to save water and look at new technologies in this sector.

One would never imagine that we would throw, say, 50 million litres of fresh water in the sea each and every day. Right? The bad news is that is what will be happening.

No, this is no "gloom-and-doom" urban legend. This is for real.

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority has just issued the Project Description Statement for the construction of a "New Urban Wastewater Treatment Plant at Ta' Barkat" (PA 06974/06). The lengthy document does not include any concrete plans for the re-use of the treated effluent that is the fresh water that is the by-product of the process. The document (authored by the Water Services Corporation) states that this is attributed to "the absence of a re-use policy". Such water can be used for agricultural and industrial purposes, and even as a source for drinking water, as in the case of Singapore and Australia.

As things stand, 50 million litres of fresh water will simply be thrown in the sea each and every day. Then we spend more money on the reverse osmosis process to turn seawater into fresh water. All this while the country is pumping itself dry.

What alternative source of fresh water available all the year round do we have if not treated sewage effluent?

Our "competent" authorities are about to do the same mistake as they did with the Malta north and Gozo sewage treatment plants and throw this fresh water in the sea because there is no national re-use plan. In total, we will be throwing away 20 million cubic metres of fresh water a year.

Worst of all, it will cost millions of euros from taxpayers' money to rectify the situation by retrofitting the yet-to-be-built multi-million lira plant.

What is scarcest resource on the island?

Let us hope it is not good sense.

Mr Muscat is a Labour member of the European Parliament and vice president of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee.

www.josephmuscat.com