Encouraging progress is being made in a two-year project aimed at better channelling of rainwater to recharge Malta's depleted aquifer.

The project was launched a year ago under the direction of hydrologist Marco Cremona.

15 cores have been dug half way down the aquifer in various parts of Malta.

Dr Cremona said the idea is for rainwater to be chanelled to tanks for initial filtration and then down the cores. The water would then be further filtered by the rock before reaching the aquifer.

He said the studies showed that while water after the first rain was polluted, water from subsequent rainfall was of a suitable quality.

He said that big establishments such as hotels with large roofs could in future be offered the possibility of installing such aquifer recharging systems instead of building large wells when that was difficult.

The university and private sector companies are also involved in the study along with the Malta Centre for Science and Technology.