Bowsers transporting groundwater will have to be equipped with a tracking device and water-level sensor under new regulations aimed at controlling the extraction of this precious natural resource.
The gadgets will monitor from where bowers fill up and where they are headed and keep track of how much water they transport, Resources Minister George Pullicino said.
According to the regulations that came into force on September 1, bowser owners had until the end of this month to apply for a licence issued by the Malta Resources Authority.
After assessing the applications, the authority will issue licences to the owners to transport and sell a specific type of water.
Licensed bowsers will then be labelled to show they are transporting groundwater as opposed to sea or rainwater. This would be beneficial to the consumer as the risk of cross-water contamination is reduced.
The regulations formed part of a strategy to curb abuse of groundwater that had been unregulated for far too long.
"This is part of a series of measures to ensure our groundwater is used in a sustainable manner and is according to EU standards," he said.
At present 34 million cubic metres of groundwater are extracted every year, 11 million cubic metres more than the recommended amount. There are an estimated 300 bowsers in operation.
"We must understand the consequences this over-extraction can have over the years. Our farmers may end up watering their fields with bad quality water," he said.
Extensive extraction of water from the underground aquifer for private use has diminished the quality and greatly reduced the availability of fresh water, driving up prices for the public because it has necessitated a greater reliance on expensive reverse osmosis plants.
According to figures quoted in Parliament a few months ago, there was a 123 per cent rise in the average price per cubic metre of water over four years.
Bowsers supplying water at a low cost do so because they extract groundwater from boreholes for free - a practice that is not illegal since boreholes remain unregulated.
Last year a legal notice was issued calling for the registration of boreholes and now the authority knows there are about 8,500 in total.
Authority CEO Anthony Rizzo explained that once the bowsers were licensed, the authority could ensure that only registered boreholes were being used, while better understanding how much water was extracted and where it was being utilised.
With this information in hand the authority could move to the next step - the regulation of the boreholes and the installation of meters that would be in place next year, Mr Pullicino added.
Alternattiva Demokratika app-lauded what it said were long-overdue proposals and hoped the Authority be strict in its monitoring.
"However, if monitoring is not done in a meticulous manner and followed up by immediate enforcement action when necessary, the current abusive tapping of ground water will never be brought under control," it warned.
Bowser operators can download an application form from the authority's website www.mra.org. mt and submit it at the MRA offices in Marsa.