As experts warn against the dire consequences of unsustainable extraction of groundwater for agricultural purposes, the Malta Resources Authority is keen to downplay fears of an all-out water emergency in as little as five years’ time. Is Malta’s most precious resource running out? JAMES DEBONO on the possibility of an impending catastrophe
While recognising the “significant pressures” on Malta’s limited groundwater resources, the Malta Resources Authority is questioning claims that ground water will vanish in 15 years’ time, calling on those making such claims to substantiate their predictions with scientific evidence.
The MRA’s warning comes in the wake of a declaration by Water Services Corporation chairman Tancred Tabone that “Malta will run out of water in about five years.” Hydrologist Marco Cremona has also warned of an impending water crisis in 15 years time while British geologist Gordon Knox has warned of a collapse of Maltese agriculture by 2025 due to creeping salinity in the aquifer.
A report issued by the Food Agriculture Organisation in 2007 also warned that that if ground water quality continues to deteriorate, at some point domestic water supplies will have to be sourced entirely from desalinated water produced from reverse osmosis plants leading to a doubling of household water bills.
But the MRA is adamant is rebutting claims that groundwater will vanish less than two decades. “The Authority considers the claim that groundwater will vanish in 15 years or less to merit caution and diligence, prior to it being published in the media,” director of water John Mangion wrote in an article sent to this newspaper.
According to John Mangion an analysis of data obtained from groundwater monitoring networks indicates that in spite of the “estimated significant over-abstraction” from these water bodies, the height of the water table above the mean sea water level remains either relatively stable or shows “mildly declining trends”.
Resources Minister George Pullicino had himself acknowledged that Malta is extracting 34 million cubic metres from its water table, when it should be extracting 23 million cubic metres a year.
But according to Mangion this over extraction of ground water must be seen in the light of the of the fact that the mean sea level aquifers has “a large storage capacity” estimated to contain 2 billion m3 of water and that these Maltese aquifers are “slow response systems”.
“While mean annual recharge of both the mean sea-level aquifers in Malta and Gozo is estimated to be of the order of 40 million m3, their storage capacity is estimated to be of the order of 2 billion m3.
According to Mangion the main problem facing Malta is that of high nitrate levels which has already led to the decommissioning of several groundwater bodies.
But Mangion squarely rebuts claims that the government is not addressing this issue.
“While recognising the importance of groundwater to the local economy the government is trying to strike a balance between environmental and socio-economic considerations”.
He also insisted that “certain practices” cannot be expected to be changed overnight without the introduction of sustainable and feasible alternatives like the provision of treated sewage effluent for this could result in increased economic hardships.
He also warned that the development of the necessary infrastructure to provide an alternative supply to farmers will come at a cost and “careful consideration is needed to ensure that such infrastructural projects do not levy disproportionate economic costs with overall negative consequence to the national economy”.
The Resources Authority is calling on all those claiming that ground water will vanish in 15 years or less to substantiate their claims by scientific studies and high quality field data gathered over a long period of time.
Cremona stands his ground Contacted by MaltaToday water expert Marco Cremona who is also a member on the national Committee for Adaptation to Climate Change stood his ground insisting that immediate action is needed to address over extraction.
“The MRA’s statement sheds doubt on my claim that Malta is facing a water crisis and tries to offset these fears by informing us that Malta’s aquifers have a storage capacity of of 2 billion m3 – giving the false impression that there’s really nothing to worry about and that the crisis (if ever there will be such a crisis) will be quite a while yet”.
But Cremona pointed out that the fact that the MRA is acknowleding “significant over-abstraction” despite the fact that aquifers are characterised as “relatively slow-response systems” –is extremely worrying.
“Any hydrology undergraduate will tell you that over-abstraction leads to salinization of the aquifer, rendering it useless in economic and practical terms. And the fact that we are already seeing “mildly declining trends” in aquifers which MRA itself defines as “slow-response systems” means that we are already on the road of no return”.
According to Cremona only way to reverse this undesirable trend is to drastically and immediately reduce groundwater extraction.
Cremona concurs with the MRA that “certain practices cannot be expected to be changed overnight without the introduction of sustainable and feasible alternatives”. But Cremona contends that while successive governments have been aware of the problem of over-abstraction since the early 1970s successive governments preferred to ignored the problem and did not curb these “certain practices”.
“We have ignored and pooh-poohed sustainable alternatives such as wastewater re-use and the centuries-old law practice building cisterns for the collection and re-use of rainwater”.
Cremona also called on the MRA to explain why the Water Services Corporation has reduced extraction from the aquifers (a free source of water) from 18 million m3 a year to 11 million m3 a year in less than a decade.
He also called on the MRA to explain why farmers are having to install their own RO plants for irrigation because the groundwater today is already too salty to use for irrigation.
“MRA appeals for “caution and diligence”. I think that the facts are there for all to see – we are in a water crisis. MRA would do better to admit to this blatant fact and prepare the population for a future with less water”.
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