News | Sunday, 30 November 2008

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Nadur water turns milky white as bulldozers excavate cemetery

James Debono
The spring water which Nadur’s farmers in Gozo have been using for centuries has been found contaminated by excavation works for a 600-grave cemetery owned by the Catholic Church.
A report by hydrologist Marco Cremona has given conclusive scientific evidence that the excavation works, over an unspoilt area on the road leading to Ramla l-Hamra, is already contaminating the spring water used by farmers.
Samples taken in December 2007 showed that the once crystal-clear water tasted by a MaltaToday journalist in 2006, has now turned milky white with silt.
News of the report comes in the wake of trail of destruction left by bulldozers belonging to Said Constructions, a company belonging to the brothers of parliamentary secretary Chris Said, the former Nadur mayor.
Cremona’s report exposes the bogus claims made by the Gozitan diocese, and Chris Said himself, that the cemetery will not have an impact on the farmers’ natural springs.
It also vindicates claims by the Nadur Farmers’ Cooperative and Alternattiva Demokratika, that the approval of the cemetery would spell the end of the natural springs.
The report debunks the claim in a previous report commissioned by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority that the new cemetery would have “no adverse impact” on the natural springs.
MEPA even exempted the church’s project from a proper Environment Impact Assessment, relying on a hydrology report carried out by Savior Scerri in 2005, which concluded that the cemetery would not have any impact on water resources.
But in his report Marco Cremona notes “the very evident deterioration” of the quality of the farmers’ water sources in December 2007 after the commencement of excavation works, disproving the conclusion of the Scerri report.
Samples collected by Cremona as evidence show the once transparent spring water has turned milky white because of silt.
Since no other excavation works were being carried out in the area at the time, the report links this phenomenon to the cemetery excavations.
Moreover as a consequence of the excavation works, farmers may soon experience a shortage of water in the summer months as the springs start registering a shortfall in their yield.
Cremona also observed that in spring, the flow of water was two or three times as much as it had been before excavations started. “This is the probably the result of excavation works intercepting some fissures in the aquifer, which then results in a faster release of the water stored in the aquifer during the winter months, with a possible shortfall to be experienced in the summer months when the water is required for irrigation.”
In fact in June, 2008 Cremona observed that the bedrock at the site of the excavation was wet, despite the fact that it had not rained for a considerable number of days prior to his visit.
“It is my opinion that the water-bearing stone of the perched aquifer has been intercepted by the excavation works, which may result to a change in the seasonal flow of the spring water being used by the farmers just downstream of the site of the proposed cemetery.”
Cremona concludes that since the farmers spring lies immediately downstream of the site of the proposed cemetery and since the catchment area for the supply of the farmers’ spring encompasses the site of the proposed cemetery; the activities taking place at the site of the cemetery will have a direct negative impact on the natural freshwater sources in the area.
MEPA’s bogus report
The Hydrology and Hydrogeology report prepared by geologist Saviour Scerri in March 2005 sought to establish whether the proposed development would affect the spring water issuing further downstream.
The study took the form of a survey, which included the collection and analyses of water samples collected from the perched aquifer and from the valley. However, no samples were collected from the fresh water springs used by the farmers.
Marco Cremona claims the MEPA report not only failed to adequately assess the potential impact of the proposed development and the necessary excavation works on the farmers’ water sources, but did not even mention the natural springs used by the farmers for irrigation. The study does not even provide any scientific record of the springs’ yield prior to the excavation works.
In its conclusion, the report states that the “proposed development is unlikely to have any adverse impact on these resources”.
It was on the basis on the 2005 report’s conclusion that the proposed development is unlikely to have an adverse impact on the water resources in the area – that the MEPA Board approved the development. Neither did the Water Directorate of the Malta Resources Authority (MRA) object to the construction of the cemetery, provided that excavations are limited to 3.5 metres from street level.

Cemetery saga
Ironically, had MEPA conducted a proper EIA accompanied by public consultation, the risk of contamination of the natural springs would have been properly investigated.
When MEPA issued an outline permit for the development of the cemetery in 2003, the case officer argued that an EIA was not required because the cemetery was “objectionable in principle”, and should not be developed.
Yet after ignoring the case officer’s advice to turn down the outline permit, MEPA never requested the developers to conduct an EIA. The authority ignored the advice of its own experts, who pointed out that the cemetery and its oversized chapel were outside the development zone.
The chapel is described by the Environment Protection Directorate as “intrusive” and “jarring against the natural surroundings”. According to the case officer’s report, the development violates the Structure Plan, which seeks the protection and enhancement of areas of scenic value.
MEPA’s own heritage committee had also recommended a refusal. Yet the development of the cemetery was fully supported by the Gozo church, Nadur Parish priest Saviour Muscat and of course, former Nadur mayor Chris Said.
In an interview with MaltaToday in 2007 he insisted that Nadur needed a cemetery as Gozo lacks a central cemetery and every parish has its own cemetery. “We made our research with the Malta Resources Authority and MEPA, who gave us a guarantee that the cemetery will not affect the spring water,” claimed Said.
An appeal against the permit for the cemetery has been presented by Nature Trust. The MEPA appeals board can annul the permit on the basis of the new report. But the board is failing to treat the case with the deserved urgency and the first sitting was postponed, and now risks taking a decision when it is too late to redress the damage to the natural irrigation system.

jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt

BOGUS CLAIMS EXPOSED

• “We made our research with the Malta Resources Authority and MEPA, who gave us a guarantee that the cemetery will not affect the spring water” – former Nadur mayor Chris Said, interviewed by MaltaToday, September 2007

• “Studies ordered by MEPA have shown that the graves don’t pose a risk to the water supply” – Parish Priest Salv Muscat, asked by MaltaToday on impact of project on farmers, November 2006

• “Hotels and other structures are being developed… spiritual sanctuaries, cemeteries and projects to enhance accessibility to churches are being denied permits because some people are arguing they are an environmental disaster” – Gozo Bishop Mario Grech protesting against delays in cemetery permits in a homily on August 2007

• “The public can be assured that no projects will be carried out by Church entities unless they receive the approval from the competent civil authorities” – A spokesperson for the Gozo Bishop reacting to a petition signed by 450 people asking Mario Grech to stop cemetery works in April 2007

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