Farmers extract more groundwater than WSC

It may be impossible to imagine the amount of water contained in 9.6 billion two-litre bottles but it is the equivalent used by farmers to irrigate their fields, according to a study.

Agriculture used around 19.1 million cubic metres of water, mostly extracted from the ground, in one year between September 2008 and 2009.

In contrast, last year the Water Services Corporation extracted only 12.7 million cubic metres of groundwater for distribution as tap water. Another 16.6 million cubic metres were produced by reverse osmosis plants.

The study, the first of its kind by the National Statistics Office, was conducted among farmers and published yesterday to commemorate World Water Day. The study was part financed by the EU.

Information provided by the WSC shows agriculture was only billed for the use of 0.3 million cubic metres in 2008, which means the sector was almost exclusively dependent on groundwater extracted privately at no cost.

NSO officials said the amount of water used by agriculture was an estimate and depended a lot on climatic conditions. The year in review had been characterised by unusually high temperatures and low rainfall.

Groundwater is a precious source for an arid island that depends heavily on expensive-energy guzzling reverse osmosis plants.

Resources Minister George Pullicino said last week groundwater extraction would be metered by year's end so that the authorities could have a clear picture of the amount extracted and from which areas.

Hydrologist Marco Cremona had told a conference on climate change earlier this year that unless Malta reduced its dependence on aquifers, groundwater sources may vanish in the next 15 years.

Former WSC chairman Tancred Tabone was less optimistic when he said in an interview in January that Malta would run out of water in "about five years".

Fresh water reserves are not regulated and there are no restrictions on their use by private individuals or economic operators.

Last year The Sunday Times had revealed that bottled water producers did not have a licence to exploit this public resource.

The Malta Resources Authority had confirmed that reverse osmosis plants operated by bottlers required water extracted from the aquifer, placing more pressure on the fresh water supply.

"So far, water extracted from the aquifer is free... Industry and commercial enterprise take a substantial share of this precious resource," an MRA spokesman had said, insisting there was no data to determine the amount of water being extracted.

It is only the WSC that is authorised to harness the nation's freshwater supply for public consumption.

In a statement to commemorate World Water Day the Labour Party yesterday called for greater awareness on water as a strategic resource for the country. It urged the government to keep in mind the impact of climate change on fresh water sources when analysing the social and economic changes that had to be undertaken to adapt to this global phenomenon.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com