Fine for post-2007 houses with no wells
Report focused on ‘no-regrets’ proposals
The introduction of a flood tax is among 85 proposals made by the Climate Change Committee for Adaptation.
In a consultation report launched yesterday, the committee proposed that buildings constructed after the 2007 planning authority regulations stipulating new buildings must have cisterns should be slapped with a one-off “flooding fine” and made to “regularise this illegal aspect of the building”.
Water not captured at source from rooftops ended up on the streets and exacerbated the flooding problem, the committee said.
Marco Cremona, hydrologist and committee member, recently said that about four per cent of roof drains were connected to the sewage system, meaning this small percentage was responsible for the problems affecting the whole country.
The report proposes that the revenue collected from such a tax should go to a flood fund that would, in turn, go towards flood relief operations such as the maintenance of dams and roadside reservoirs.
A violent thunderstorm on October 25 put flooding back on the agenda as many low-lying areas were hit with flash floods.
The National Climate Change Mitigation Strategy, unveiled last year, had noted that, even though it had long been recognised that cisterns were vital for Malta to have its own water supply, after the 1960s the practice was abandoned for some reason or other. This has had a detrimental effect.
The Water Services Corporation had estimated every house with an illegal storm water connection to the public sewer system contributed to a 60-fold increase in the normal sewage flow. Pumping stations in large wastewater catchment areas experienced an increase 3.5 times the normal operation levels, the corporation said.
CCCA chairman David Spiteri Gingell said data indicated thunderstorms increased by seven every year over the past 55 years. The same records showed the overall trend in air temperature indicated a 0.71˚C increase in temperature every 100 years. The sea level on average had declined over the last 15 years. However, Mr Spiteri Gingell said this was probably because of tectonic movements.
The report, Mr Spiteri Gingell said, was focused on “no-regrets” proposals, which addressed problems that still had to be tackled and which would be exacerbated by climate change.
The committee said the proposals had not been costed nor prioritised and this should only happen after the proposals were discussed.
The recommendations made include making cooling systems compulsory in healthcare buildings to fight the rising temperatures because patients were more at a risk in the eventuality of a heat wave.
The report focused on sustainability, water, agriculture, human health, tourism and the financial, legal and social implications of climate change.
Mr Spiteri Gingell admitted the group had difficulty gauging what the impact of climate change on tourism would be and the report suggests the setting up of a task-force on the matter.
Resources Minister George Pullicino said the government would be studying the recommendations in depth. He encouraged everyone to have a look at them and make their input within the six-week consultation period. After the consultation, the report would then be finalised and taken to Parliament for discussion.