Over 350 tonnes of illegally dumped inert material have been removed from watercourses in Gozo before causing serious flooding.

The Authority said its Enforcement Directorate had promptly intervened to ensure that the material was removed from two of Gozo’s pristine valleys by the respective contravenors.

It said that earlier this year, following a tip off, Mepa officers had caught, red-handed, two persons who had started dumping truckloads of construction material next to the watercourse of il-Wied Ta’ Xhajma in Nadur, Gozo.

A similar incident took place over the watercourse of Il-Wied tar-Ramla l-Hamra, in an area that was  blocked off to the public, and about which Mepa was alerted by the Gaia Foundation.

Following the Enforcement Directorate’s investigations, the parties responsible were identified in both cases and held accountable for the illegal works.

In the Wied Ta’ Xhajma case, the police were informed and asked to take action. Mepa imposed a daily fine on the contravention.

In the Wied tar-Ramla l-Hamra case, the affected parties immediately removed the dumped material.

Mepa said that in both cases, the dumping took place to facilitate access to land on the opposite side of the valley. The dumping would have effectively dammed the watercourse resulting in flooding, carrying away soil.