When it rains, it floods!

Our roads are often dry but flooded when it rains. In heavy drizzles, the Cottonera residents are temporarily imprisoned, for key feeder roads are flooded to car axle level. At Kalkara the corner under the bastion forming the Cottonera lines at the top of Santa Liberata Street, forms a small lake, and the head of water formed in the drainpipes escape to lower grounds at the nearest boatyard, filling the grounds with raw sewage before discharging to sea.

Going to Cospicua along the Tuesday market road, one finds a large lake between the opening at the bastions lower down from the residence of the ex-minister Dr Piscopo.

Further up at the opening of the other bastion in front of the old main door at Verdala School, the inner lane is totally flooded and the inclination of the road at the corner may render the outer lane just passable through driving on the wrong side.

Venturing down to Cospicua HSBC/Rialto square, one often finds a little Venice. Trying to escape through Żabbar by the Hompesch Arch to Żejtun one risks wetting the spark plugs.

At the entry of the four water tunnels below Aldo Moro Street from Marsa Sports Ground, a drain structure deflects the oncoming floodwater and the added contribution of the S- shaped outer wall causes a high depression, where only two of the four tunnels translate floodwater to sea, while the other two used to circulate it between them, before the other drain structure was removed last year to slightly improve the situation. At the Qormi entry into the Marsa Sports Ground, the rainwater seeping into the keystones of the central arch three years ago caused one keystone to be displaced and slightly lowered in position.

Then two years ago two keystones dropped a little, while one year ago three keystones protruded further down. Last week I saw four keystones dropping about 20cm, and I predict that next year a few more keystones would have dropped to the ground, to close and block the old historic arch.