The problem of flooding is one story which, in an almost clockwork manner, makes the local headlines every September/October.

And with rain forecast for the coming days, we are bound to be reading about the same problems which have afflicted these islands for years on end.

Were it not for the costly damage the floods inflicted on homes, roads and vehicles, the issue would almost be comical. All the more so since we live in a small island with plenty of avenues to re-route the rainwater.

Unfortunately, Malta does not need floods of biblical proportions to witness chaos in its streets. A short, sudden downpour is enough to do the job.

The scene of cars floating and crashing into each other along Birkirkara’s Valley Road or the pictures of distraught families seeing their homes damaged by flowing water have become all too common.

Today’s story quoting the ministry claiming that extensive works have been undertaken to clean and repair valleys and reservoirs is certainly welcome. This should ease some of the problems commonly caused in many parts of Malta during the late summer/early autumn seasons.

But in reality, no amount of valley-cleaning will eliminate the problem of flooding in low-lying areas like Msida and Qormi, at least for the foreseeable future.

The unbridled construction in valleys and certain areas which should have remained free of buildings along the past decades has left no exit route for rainwater, spilling gallons upon gallons of water into the roads.

So many years later, and on the eve of the first rains since spring, we are bound to witness similar scenes and fingers pointing over who should shoulder the blame.

The National Flood Relief Project is of course a more long-term solution, even if the plans have faced justified criticism for proposing to channel most of the storm water into the sea through underground tunnels rather than storing it for reuse.

It is estimated that less than one-tenth of rainwater is collected by house cisterns or roadside reservoirs and dams. That should be cause for concern. Would it not have been better to distribute the €56 million as incentives to households and firms to collect the water at source and therefore alleviate flooding and reduce the stress on water supplies?

Although a climate change committee has proposed that properties without cisterns should pay a flood fine to make up for rain water that ends up in the street, the government has only committed itself to assess the recommendation.

The country is not only wasting this precious resource by not capturing what it can when it rains but is also depleting the water table through over-extraction. The mean sea level aquifer risks being wiped unless robust action is taken. The problems, unfortunately, persist beyond water catchment.

Slippery roads brought about by a combination of poor asphalting and an accumulation of dry-weather dust are bound to lead to scores of traffic accidents. We have seen them all too often. We will undoubtedly see them again in the coming days.

Too often for comfort, motorists pin their hopes on fate when driving in a light drizzle. This is not to mention the way rain always drills massive craters into our roads leading to avoidable damage.

Unfortunately, the Maltese have come to accept the floods as an inconvenient seasonal truth they have no choice but to accept.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.