Repeatedly promised but perennially postponed, works on a national flood relief system are due to begin over the coming weeks, Resource Minister George Pullicino announced yesterday.

It is estimated that approximately 200,000 people will benefit from the project

The €56 million project must be completed by 2015 – two years later than the original 2013 completion target – if it is to benefit from EU funds, Mr Pullicino said. It will be characterised by a series of underground tunnels channelling storm water away from flood-prone zones. Its largest component will see a tunnel 11 kilometres long dug beneath Balzan, Birkirkara and Msida.

Between three and five metres wide, the tunnel will carry storm water to Ta’ Xbiex, where a structure akin to a gigantic sink overflow will allow water to spill into the sea. A smaller tunnel carrying water from the San Ġwann area through Gżira will join the larger tunnel before Ta’ Xbiex.

There will be another 2.8 kilometres worth of tunnels inthe south of Malta, taking water from Żabbar and Marsascala and draining it into the sea by Għar id-Duħħan, Xagħjra. A fourth tunnel, stretching 1.6 kilometres in length, will cross much of central Żebbuġ, draining flood water there at Wied Qirda. Works on this component will be the first to get underway.

Flooding in Qormi and Marsa will be alleviated through the reconstruction of several bridges and the creation of a network of wide water culverts.

It envisages more than doubling Malta’s existing water retention capacity, with up to 700,000 cubic metres of water per year potentially being available for reuse. But contrary to earlier indications, most of the water is set to be discharged into the sea. Mr Pullicino and chief architect George Buhagiar defended the choice on the grounds of cost-effectiveness. Flood relief programmes incorporating a greater element of water conservation had been proven to be prohibitively expensive, the Minister said.

“The EU doesn’t give you blank cheques,” Mr Pullicino said.

Proposals to resolve Malta’s annual flash flooding problems have been floating around for over 15 years, with little concrete action taken until now. In June 2006, Mr Pullicino’s ministerial predecessor Ninu Zammit had announced that the government was in the process of drawing up calls for tenders for flood relief projects.

Yesterday’s announcement that works on the Żebbuġ tunnel would begin within a matter of weeks will be welcomed by long-suffering residents of affected areas, who have to cope with the periodic floods which follow torrential downpours. Commuters crossing flood-hit zones also stand to gain, with the Minister saying that “it is estimated that approximately 200,000 people – half our population – will benefit from the project.” In a nod to the project’s delays, Mr Pullicino insisted “we weren’t complacent,” and said that the project’s complexity required both “time and prudence.”

Dr Buhagiar explained how the project would incorporate an element of water conservation. Rainwater that didn’t spill into the sea could be pumped back into a 10,000 cubic metre capacity “soak away” reservoir in Gżira or pumped for treatment and reuse to other nearby reservoirs and dams.

Soak-away reservoirs are designed to allow water to percolate into aquifers, providing them with some much-needed replenishment. But in comments to The Times, hydrologist Marco Cremona said that he was unconvinced about claims that water could be sent to already existing reservoirs and dams. He also raised questions about the storm water’s quality – concerns which had also been raised previously by geologist Peter Gatt. “Will the storm water be contaminated by sewage, as is regularly the case?” asked Mr Cremona.