Number of boreholes

The government has been notified of 5,710 boreholes in Malta and 2,282 in Gozo, Resources and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino told Labour MP Charles Buhagiar in reply to a parliamentary question.

The government’s top priority was to see that boreholes not in conformity with the parameters set out in Legal Notice 241 of 2010 are closed down. Meters will be installed at boreholes conforming to the legal notice. The Malta Resources Authority has already written about 200 letters to owners of private boreholes to close them down within 60 days of the date of each letter. The owner of each closed borehole must submit a declaration in this sense countersigned by a civil engineer.

As for agricultural boreholes used by more than one person, Mr Pullicino said it had been decided to install meters with a card-reading system. The tendering process for the purchase of meters and card readers was at an advanced stage.