First meter installed in clampdown on groundwater extraction

An 18-month process which will see meters installed at all licensed agricultural boreholes got under way today when the first meter was installed in a field in Nigret, near Rabat.

Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino explained that all the extraction of ground water has to be registered and tough action would be taken against the owners of any unlicensed boreholes.

He said the farmers themselves agreed that groundwater extraction needed to be regulated, to ensure that supply continues to be adequate and the water quality does not deteriorate with excessive extraction.

The plan is that once the borehole meters are installed, the use of water will be monitored, and the farmers will then be allocated quotas of the amount of water they can extract free of charge, depending on the size of their field and the produce.

In this way, groundwater extraction which is not for agricultural use will be discouraged.

The installation of the meters is being co-financed by the EU, with the project costing some €2.5m in all.

Mr Pullicino also pointed out how the government has halved the cost of water and electricity meters to farmers to €250. 

He said that plans for the future included 'polishing' of sewage water so that in can be used for agriculture or to recharge the aquifer.