The Gozo Ministry plans to clean up and make better use of water catchment areas in valleys over the next three years to avoid waste.

Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono spoke of the plans during a visit to Marsalforn valley, where a clean-up operation to remove rubbish from one of the catchment areas there has been under way for the past month.

“One of the ministry’s objectives, in keeping with the government’s vision to turn Gozo into an ecological island, is to clean up and maintain water catchment areas in its valleys to maximise the collection and use of rainwater,” said Ms Debono.

A second catchment area in the valley will be cleared in the coming weeks after works were completed at the nearby Ta’ Żejta valley.

Soil and stones collected during the clean-up were being re-used for the ministry’s afforestation projects and rubble walls.

The water collected is intended for use in agriculture, which would see farmers exerting less pressure on the island’s water table.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.