The government is in the final stages of drafting an action plan to get nitrate levels in ground water within EU levels, with the main measure expected to be a reduction in the indiscriminate use of fertilisers, Resources Minister George Pullicino has said.

Replying to a parliamentary question, he aid that while the EU set a groundwater nitrates level of 50mg/l, in Malta, the mean sea level nitrates content was 83.7 mg/l while at Mgarr/Wardija it was 139 mg/l/ Other areas in Gozo were below the EU level, although the Gozo mean sea level was not far off at 49.4 mg/l.

Mr Pullicino said he wanted to assure people that there was no health risk since water extracted from these sources was filtered and mixed with water from reverse osmosis plants before reaching the taps.

He said the current situation was the result of carelessness or lack of awareness of the potential harm in the past. Experts calculated that the 'residence time' of rainwater from the time it reached the ground to the time it left the water table was 40 years.

The current high level of nitrates was the result of the indiscriminate use of fertiliser, particularly Urea, which today could not be imported or used. The level of high nitrates correlated with intensive agriculture activity.

Mr Pullicino said the EU Water Framework Directive established 2015 as the deadline by which time the 50mg/l of nitrates level must not be exceeded, although member states could apply for an extension for economic reasons (disproportionate costs) or natural reasons, such as the time needed for the aquifer to respond to measures which would be taken.

The government was therefore drawing up its action plan to tackle this problem. The most important measure would be a reduction in the indiscriminate use of fertilisr, which also did not do agriculture products any good, he said.