Note that boreholes are used to retrieve ground water from the lower aquifer that is common to all of Malta. Fresh ground water may be pumped from a layer of water that resides in the limestone of the island just above sea-level. These boreholes are different from the wells, cisterns, and water galleries that we have been studying with our ROV on this trip. Those features are used to store water locally, while boreholes draw from the common aquifer.
The other main source of water on Malta is from reverse osmosis plants. The water from these plants is fed into the main pipe system and then delivered to everyone across Malta. Part of the current issue is that some people would rather extract water from boreholes than pay to get it out of the main system.
There are typically two viewpoints behind water usage in Malta. The first viewpoint is that water is a public resource that is to be used by anyone and everyone as they see fit. They would argue that if someone took the time to drill a borehole into the water reserves, that person should be able to use the water from that borehole as they please. Another idea is that once the government is given the power to meter water, they will not be able to give up that power. Eventually, water will be controlled to the point of rationing for everyone on the island, which they think should be unacceptable to everyone. These are just a few of the comments I found on the Malta Times website in conjunction with articles related to water metering.
I would tend to agree, however, with those who feel that water should be conserved for the future of Malta. At the moment a number of companies are taking unfair advantage of the water supplies for their own benefit. Bottling companies regularly extract large amounts of water from the reservoirs to avoid the expenses of reverse osmosis. Similarly, some hotels, laundry mats, and swimming pool owners take an unfair advantage of this scarce resource. One estimate in an article from the Times of Malta put the extraction rate at 40,000 liters of water per minute. With metering on boreholes everyone would need to pay the same rate for water so that no one bottling company would have an advantage over others because of easier access to water.
Now, the question to ask is how does this relate to farming? Farming takes a lot of water, and metering boreholes would mean that farmers are required to pay for their crop water. Obviously, those who support free water for everyone would support farmers in continued water extraction. It is important to note that those who favor metering seem to support farmers as well. In particular, some of the comments in favor of metering cite the fact that farmers rely on aquifer water to grow their crops and in recent years the water has become increasingly salty due to over extraction. Other comments indicated that farmers should not need to pay for water because they already have a difficult time competing with larger agricultural countries like Spain. In short, I didn’t find any negative comments about farming, which supports the idea that the Maltese want to keep farming on Malta.
I looked at a number of activist groups to find more perspectives on the water and farming situation. The most interesting group that I found was the Malta Water Association. They argue that Malta’s lower aquifer is deteriorating every year and that action is needed to correct the situation. With regard to farming, they suggest that the government invest in the development of Treated Sewage Effluent systems and then supply the resulting water to farmers as an alternative to water from boreholes. They suggest that all boreholes should be metered, including agricultural boreholes, to measure the amounts of water that are being drawn from the lower aquifer. They recommend that all non-agricultural boreholes should be immediately closed to prevent further damage to the aquifer. Finally, they want the government to establish a national Agriculture Policy to regulate crop irrigation. All of this suggests that the group supports agriculture, but only if it is managed correctly.
A paper produced for the Maltese government entitled the National Climate Change Adaption Strategy took a similar stance to water and agriculture as the Malta Water Association. It recommended that increasing quantities of treated sewage water should be used to augment the current water supplies of farmers. The report notes that policies should be developed to increase the flexibility of agricultural systems and reduce trends that will lead to increased global warming. It also recommends that organic farming should be further promoted as it is a good sustainable alternative to conventional farming. In general this climate change adoption document seems to support farming as an important resource for Malta to have, even if it thinks that farming needs to be improved.
It is important to note that, at the moment, farmers do not pay for much, if any, of their water. According to a 2007 CIHEAM Analytic report, water consumption levels for the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector was a mere 4%. This means that most of the water required for growing crops, which is significant, is drawn through boreholes. If farmers were required to pay for their water, they would have a significantly harder time, financially, to grow their crops.
Looking at the resources I have come across, it seems that people want to support agriculture. Some sources have suggested that farming could be improved for the modern era. For example, irrigation schemes and organic farming could enhance the existing farming methods. However, people seem to want to protect their water supplies to ensure that they still have both good water and food. There are no direct ties between agriculture and national identity, at least none that I have found, but there is still a desire among people for agriculture to continue.
Malta Times Articles:
“Private sector extracting 40,000 litres of water from boreholes...per minute”. Times of Malta. 27 Jul 2011. Web.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110727/local/policy-on-metering-of-private-boreholes.377577
Xuereb, Matthew. “Price would serve as ‘deterrent’”. Times of Malta. 14 Sep 2010.
Schembri, David. “Close down all private boreholes”. Times of Malta. 28 Jul 2011.
Schembri, David. ”Private boreholes ‘a social injustice’”. Times of Malta. 8 Nov 2010. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20101108/local/private-boreholes-a-social-injustice.335158
Website of Maltese Water Association:
maltawater.org
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