A leading hydrologist has called for a national agricultural policy to be immediately drawn up to probe the amount of water consumed by farmers.
Malta has one of the highest densities of boreholes in the world
This agricultural policy would, among other things, establish how much water was consumed – and extracted – for irrigation purposes and agricultural use, Marco Cremona told a conference yesterday.
“This agricultural policy, which has to be comprehensive, needs to be drawn up immediately. The country can’t have a national water policy without an agricultural national policy,”he told a session organised by the Church’s Environment Commission.
Split into three, the sessions revolve around specific topics – water and building have been discussed so far – and involve the relevant stakeholders as well as voluntary groups.
Dr Cremona underlined that Malta’s water table has to be safeguarded – both in quality and quantity – to be enjoyed by future generations.
The quality of water deteriorated over time because of the illegal, over-extraction from illegal boreholes and the overuse of fertiliser. The private sector extracted around 38 per cent of water – more than the amount taken by the Water Services Corporation.
Boreholes came into existence around 25 years ago when the corporation decided to boost Malta’s water supply. The drilling rigs used were available and accessible to all and thousands were illegally drilled everywhere – including people’s backyards, basements and in fields.
Dr Cremona said that around 8,000 boreholes have been registered but “there are probably thousands the authorities don’t know about”.
Through over-extraction at the official rate of 21,000 litres a minute, the water quality deteriorated, becoming saltier and high in nitrate levels. In fact, the water corporation mixes it with water extracted from reverse osmosis plants to bring the quality up to acceptable standards.
The only remaining good-quality aquifers were in Miżieb – where the government had once expressed the wish to build a golf course – and in Comino.
Dr Cremona also maintained that the decision to install meters at boreholes failed to take into account those that had been drilled illegally.
The Malta Water Association will be discussing the issue of water quotas for farmers internally and will be communicating its position in the near future.
It is of the opinion that groundwater extraction should be halted immediately by all extractors, except for WSC and agriculture, and that extraction for agricultural purposes is to be properly regulated in line with a sustainable strategy.
The Association advocates the re-use of treated sewage effluent to substitute groundwater extraction in agriculture in the medium to long term.
Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Michael Briguglio also condemned the theft of “public” water by businesses and families.
“Malta has one of the highest densities of boreholes in the world – it is totally unsustainable,” he said.
He also criticised a large soft drinks company in Malta for using huge quantities of water extracted from the aquifer without paying for it.
Environment Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco admitted that the issue of groundwater was a challenge. “Some question whether it is public or private but I believe it’s a public resource.”
The country became more dependent on water extracted through reverse osmosis, which came at an economic cost, but changes had to be made to use less energy, Dr de Marco said.
These changes could only come about through a change of mentality such as, for example, using sewage effluent in agriculture or by using less fertiliser, he added.