It's another flood relief project!

The millions of euros to be poured into flood relief projects may not have the desired effect because mistakes of the past are not being addressed, an expert said in reaction to stormwater plans that resurfaced last week.

Geologist Peter Gatt criticised the government’s enthusiasm for multi-million euro engineering projects as a solution to the country’s ills especially when such projects overlooked natural systems which could be harnessed at a lower cost.

Last Monday, the Resources Ministry announced the construction of an underground tunnel network to relieve flood-prone areas when it rains.

The project has been on the drawing board for 15 years and media reports clearly show it has been relaunched over a number of years. The plans are largely unchanged and the ministerial press releases are almost identical.

But since then, torrential rain has flooded homes and caused financial damage. A downpour in Malta often causes chaos and creates traffic congestion.

But while the news of no more flooding offers hope, the plans have come under fire.

Dr Gatt told The Sunday Times: “Problems are ignored for far too long and then the country undertakes major investments without the necessary data collection on current and future water flows. So engineering projects may be under-designed or inadequate to handle natural systems and this may result in more problems.”

He referred to Msida as an example of where millions of euros have been spent on projects to address the notorious flooding problem but none has served its purpose. That is because such projects are located downstream, at the areas prone to flooding, when they should be located upstream at the point where the water starts flowing down, according to Dr Gatt.

He said: “The most logical solution is to have dams collect the water rather than allow it to flow and accumulate in low-lying areas. These dams already exist in the Wied il-Kbir valley system, which drains into Qormi and Marsa. They were built by the British and are still structurally intact, but they are silted up because of neglect.”

He said flooding would continue to be a problem because the rise in temperature of the Mediterranean Sea would generate greater air instability and increase the frequency of storms.

While commending the notion of collecting rainwater, Dr Gatt questioned the declared aim of the tunnel project to collect tens of millions of gallons of run-off water to be stored and used primarily for agricultural purposes, saying the issue of contamination has not been addressed.

Sewage is a possible source of contamination. Moreover, during the summer months, road surfaces accumulate hazardous residue from vehicles, such as oil and lead. Water collected from the early winter rains would have to dumped because it would be too polluted for any use, Dr Gatt said.

The ministry said applications had been submitted to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority last November. The target date for completion is 2013 at an estimated cost of €57 million – it is hoped the EU will accept to cover 85 per cent of the cost.

Tenders have been awarded for an environmental impact assessment, a cost-benefit analysis and technical detail work.

But Mepa is not yet assessing the applications for the project because the right fees have not been paid. The authority’s website states it will only start considering the applications when the building levy is fully paid up.

The ministry failed to reply to questions from The Sunday Times by the time of going to print.