Illegal and uncontrolled extraction of water from boreholes should be seriously limited if not eradicated as owners will have to install a meter in line with a new legal notice.

Owners of commercial boreholes are being given 30 days to apply for the installation of a meter, which will cost €765 and will be installed by officials from the Water Services Corporation.

About 8,000 boreholes, registered in a recent government scheme, will eventually be metered, a Resources Ministry spokesman said.

Priority will be given to commercial boreholes, particularly those from which a substantial amount of water is extracted.

The Malta Resources Authority would this week contact owners to install the meters and those failing to do so would face penalties, the spokesman said. "There is also the possibility the boreholes might be closed down."

Eventually, boreholes used by farmers for agricultural purposes would be given meters but the cost would be subsidised by the government, the spokesman said.

Illegal groundwater extraction was highlighted in a recent environment report, drawn up by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, as a serious cause for concern. The report called for national legislation and enforcement because the illegal extraction was leading to salt water seeping into the water table, increasing the salinity levels.

Since the report's findings, the government launched a registration scheme for water tankers that draw from the water table. The Malta Resources Authority received 86 applications from operators of water tankers for a total of 126 vehicles.