I have had the privilege to interview a number of the members of the Malta Water Society this week. From these interviews I gained a number of new perspectives about the water and farming situation here in Malta. Unfortunately, most Maltese people do not seem as aware or concerned about the severity of the water problem here in Malta as I and many water experts believe that they should be. Similarly, most people do not seem to be aware that the current water issues are making hardships for farmers.
The main issue at the moment is water quality in the main aquifer. As mentioned in my last post, the main aquifer is a large lens of freshwater that is perched just above sea level. High extraction rates have reduced the lens of water to the point where some wells are drawing brackish water. Obviously, salt and plants do not mix well. This is becoming an increasingly severe problem for farmers who rely on the lower aquifer for fresh water. The question at the moment seems to be how long it will take for the fresh water lens to collapse to the point where it is unusable, and then how long it will take for the lens to recover. Even if extraction were stopped today, members of the Malta Water Association think that it will take a number of years for the lens to recover.
The need for the aquifer to replenish itself brings up the topic of alternative sources of water. The most plentiful alternative at this point is recycled sewage water, or gray water. Three sewage water treatment plants have already been built on Malta, but the water from them is not being utilized. The water could be either further refined and reintroduced into the main water system, or piped out separately to farms. Unfortunately, while the plans exist to utilize this gray water for farming, the funding is not yet available.
In the event that water from boreholes becomes too salty to use and farmers are required to use water from a central system they would probably need to pay for it. Despite a probable discount for water used on agriculture, it would be important for farmers to consider the economics of the crops that they grew. As Dr. Knox pointed out, certain crops take more water, and other crops take less water. For Malta, it would be best for farmers to choose crops that take the least water to grow and leave the other crops to be grown abroad and imported. After all, some areas of the world have much more rain water than Malta. These are places that are ideal for growing water intensive crops without environmental impact.
Because so few people recognize the water problem on Malta it will be difficult to prevent the degradation of the central aquifer. As a result, at some point in the future, farmers may be required to take water from a central system which will limit the types of crops they can grow economically.
One more issue that I found out about is the entrance of nitrates into the lower aquifer. Nitrates can come from both sewer water and fertilizers. Unfortunately, the water in the aquifer is already unfit for human consumption because of these nitrates. This means that continued use of chemical fertilizers could further damage the lower aquifer. This is an unsustainable and unwise course of action. Instead, organic farming methods could be used, which avoid the use of chemical fertilizers.
As mentioned in prior posts, the government has not heavily promoted organic farming to either the population or the farmers. Standard consumers do not look for the organic label, and the majority of farmers have not bothered to become organically certified. Organic farming, however, should be encouraged to reduce the amount of contamination in the lower aquifer, among other reasons.
Based upon the information I collected this week, I think that water is going to be an increasingly difficult issue for farmers. Those who rely on water from the central aquifer and not from cisterns might need to make some adjustments to keep their farms economical. It will also be important for all farmers to consider using organic fertilizers to reduce the contamination of the central aquifer. I doubt that Maltese farming will die out, but I do think adjustments should be made to compensate for the current state of the environment.
I would like to thank Keith Buhagiar, Dr. Gorden Knox, Julian Mamo, and Philip Grech for taking the time to talk to me about water and farming this week.
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