AD calls for better use of stormwater, second class water
Whilst water table is being depleted,
The government is throwing second class water away even as concern has been raised over the depletion of the water table, Alternattiva Demokratika complained this morning.
It said that in view of the spiralling costs of energy, including the production of water through reverse osmosis plants, the government should conclude the preparation of a national water policy as quickly as possible.
The production of second class water increased over the past few months with the commissioning of sewage treatment plants in Gozo and at Ic-Cumnija, near Anchor Bay. However second class water from those plants is still pumped out to sea.
Party leader Arnold Cassola said a stormwater master plan should not be a stand-alone plan, but should be coupled with the National Water Policy. Indeed, work on the stormwater plan should be suspended pending publication of a national water policy.
Carmel Cacopardo, Alternattiva Demokratika spokesman on sustainable development said the government was underestimating the strategic importance of stormwater.
"In a situation where we have to cut back on groundwater extraction, replacing this shortfall in groundwater with energy-intensive desalinated water is not a sustainable option". Having made the mistake of not making use of the 2nd class water produced by the sewage treatment plants, government has no option but to make the best use of every drop of stormwater, not only by ensuring that cisterns are built under roads and houses but also by using quarries as reservoirs and also treating stormwater to make it a viable alternative to groundwater and potable water", Mr Cacopardo said.
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louis farrugia
Oct 20th 2008, 18:55
In gozo there are water catchment areas in the valleys but they are filled with soil and stones and the authorities have never even cleaned them.
Randolph Peresso
Oct 20th 2008, 15:19
There is a law which says that all new buildings should have a cistern . It seems that this law is not being abided by the developers. Why isn't it enforced? Every family living in a house with a cistern has practically 6months of free water. If this law is enforced, we could easily lower water consumption by, at least 25%.
Doing other measures, like enormous cisterns under the passage of water in areas like B'kara, Qormi and Msida, could turn a problem in an asset!!!
John Meilak
Oct 20th 2008, 13:19
I propose the introduction of windtraps. As most of you know, Malta has a climate with high humidity rates. All that humidity is airborne water all around us! Now what if one were to harvest that humidity using a windtrap. A windtrap is a device placed in the path of a prevailing wind and capable of precipitating the moisture from the air. This is accomplished by a sharp drop in temperature within the trap. A windtrap would collect that water held by the atmosphere by allowing wind to pass through it and when the humidity condenses against cold metal plates, it trickles down into a reservoir. This is potable water as it is reclaimed directly from the atmosphere. If windtraps are installed, the load on the reverse osmosis plants and on the water table will be reduced considerably.
Although this may be an novel and strange idea, it may be a good idea to consider developing such devices by our local scientists.
M Mifsud
Oct 20th 2008, 11:06
Storm water should not be second class water, if it is used to replenish the water table instead of ending up into the sea. We just need to build a few strategic reservoirs or storm water pumping stations from low lying areas such as Msida.
Louis J Galea
Oct 20th 2008, 08:28
The use of underground cisterns used as stormwater catchments has been used for hundreds and thousands of years.
With today's technology, machinery and materials we can easily build huge water reservoirs that need little maintenance and can save up millions of euros in energy spending to turn seawater into pottable water for our use.
If I'm not mistaken, water reservoirs built by the British and the Knights are still functioning and in use, so what are we waiting for?
Why are'nt these types of catchments being planned when By Passes and similar roads are to be constructed. The use of special adequate membranes and PVC pipes & tubings may give us tens if not hundreds of years of low maintenance water supplies to our Country instead of throwing it away into our seas. We have to end being such a wasteful nation when we all know for fact, how small we just are!