The editorial of The Times of February 4 identified accurately the problems facing the water sector in Malta. The major issue is that while we allow storm water to flood our roads very little is being done to make sure this precious resource is collected for eventual reuse. According to the editorial we only manage to capture about 10 per cent of all storm water falling on our islands.

The editorial then proceeded to congratulate the government for the proposed storm water collection project (estimated at €56 million) but failed to note the consequences that, as a result of this project, storm water is shifted to areas already prone to flooding.

It seems to me the (revised) storm water project is not meant to collect water for reuse but is primarily aimed at avoiding flooding of certain areas. In my opinion, for such a storm water project to be successful it must foremost address the problem of flooding but at the same time it must ensure it provides storage capacity for the highest possible percentage of storm water falling on our islands.

Furthermore, the proposed project would not address one of the major problems caused by storm water, which is that of drainage overflows. Such overflows occur because, over the years, the rainwater drainage system of many buildings was not connected to the well which is required by law or, at least, drained to the street but storm water was disposed off in the sewage system. The proposed storm water project does not address this issue, which causes great inconvenience to residents and those who happen to pass through localities affected by this problem such as Lija, Balzan, Birkirkara and Msida during rainstorms.

Rather than trying to implement such a grandiose scheme costing tens of millions of euros, what in my opinion should be immediately done is to carry out a national project for the cleaning of all valleys. Unfortunately, over the years, our valleys have become full of silt and rubbish as a consequence of which their water retention capacity has been reduced to practically zero.

Such a national project cannot be carried out in a piecemeal fashion but needs to be planned comprehensively. Likewise, if at all possible, dams should be built to increase this retention capacity and reduce the speed of the flow of water (the speed of water usually causes more damage that the volume). Obviously, this work has to be carried out while ensuring that no damage is caused to the environment. Some of the water flowing down country roads may also be directed to the valleys. Such a project would not only increase the natural retention capacity of valleys but would provide a longer time period for water to filter down and recharge the aquifer while at the same time improve our rural landscape.

Unfortunately, the government appears only concerned with ensuring that storm water reaches the sea as quickly as possible. This is why the floor of the valley at Qormi was tarmacked (in my opinion causing serious environmental damage) and why now it is being proposed to install huge concrete channels to form a new passageway for the storm water at Burmarrad.

Action also needs to be taken immediately to address the problem of illegal connection of rainwater drains to sewage mains in our streets. Existing legislation prohibiting such connections should be enforced and owners of buildings who do not comply with these regulations should be given a definite period of time to implement solutions applicable in their circumstances – say a period of 12 months. After the lapse of this period, owners of buildings who do not conform should be fined. We just cannot permit the prevailing situation to persist and take no action because the matter is bound to get worse with heavier (even if less regular) rainstorms.

Our lack of action over the years in this sector has meant we have had to replace our natural water supply by artificial water produced at great cost by means of reverse osmosis. Now we are considering implementing a solution to the flooding caused by the storm water using an artificial tunnel system at great expense instead of properly maintaining our natural watercourses, which are our valleys.

I consider the protection of this precious resource to be one of our priorities. We have to act now before it is too late.

The author, an MP, is the Labour Party’s main spokesman for public works and infrastructure and for sustainable development of the central region.