Sewage will be treated and used to recharge the island’s groundwater levels, according to Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi. Addressing the launch of an inter-ministerial consultation on a new 10-year national water plan, Dr Mizzi said the government was committed to addressing groundwater depletion.
“We are aware that there is need for concrete action. We want to take steps, not only in the short term but in the long term too,” he said.
The €20 million project, partly financed by the EU, will see effluent polished and filtered into the water table.
“Treated sewage is normally dumped at sea. We will refine it further and create what is known as new water. Through this, we can recharge the water being lost to extraction,” he said, adding that such water would also be used for agriculture.
A similar project was announced last June and included a micro waste water treatment plant, to provide third class water for irrigation.
A study by the World Resource Institute last month put Malta among the 19 countries most at risk of drying out.
Figures compiled by the Washington DC environmental research organisation showed that the island had one of the highest “water stress” levels in the world.
Water stress is based on the ratio of groundwater extraction to available subterranean resources. The study found that 80 per cent of the water available for agriculture, domestic and industrial use was being taken from the water table and not replaced.
Dr Mizzi told Times of Malta that the project would be accompanied by a number of other initiatives including increased water catchment facilities and a revamp of the island’s three reverse osmosis plants.
On Wednesday, the Malta Water Association noted that high dependency on reverse osmosis and relatively low water storage meant that the island risked facing water shortages in the future.
MWA spokesman Dirk Ketelaere said that the island only had two days’ supply of potable water in its reservoirs.
“We are running a risk by not increasing the amount of water stored,” he said.
Dr Mizzi said that the problem was one of supply and demand. “We need to educate people on water consumption and extraction,” he said.