Editorial: We can’t let rain go down the drain
For years, experts and activists – and now the Green Party – have said the same thing: we need to harvest rainwater
The unexpected storm that hit Malta last week resparked the conversation about the impact of floods and the need for all that water to be harvested.
When 36mm of rain fell on the island – over three times the average for May – the Green Party lambasted the Planning Authority and the Water Services Corporation for procrastinating.
Over the decades, successive governments have tried to mitigate the problem, using underground tunnels and bridges to avoid the build-up of water – which has partly resulted from ill-advised construction and roads in valleys.
However, reducing flooding is only one aspect of water management: what happens to it is also important.
The country has to ensure a sufficient supply of water for domestic, industrial and agricultural purposes.
The Water Unit at the Malta Energy and Water Agency states clearly on its website that ‘Malta’s natural water supplies are not sufficient, even if used sustainably’.
One of the first things was to ensure that water reached its intended users, which involved substantial investment to fix the leaky distribution network.
However, there is also cost: a substantial part of the country’s electricity is spent on reverse osmosis plants; and the groundwater supplies cannot cope. Boreholes are at risk of becoming irreversibly saline.
The consultation document outlining Malta’s economic vision for the next decades noted that one of the 15 major issues was the “growing pressure on natural resources like water and materials, driven by population growth and consumption”.
Where does this leave us? We have too much rainwater that flows into the sea, we are spending a fortune making water, and we are envisaging economic growth which will result in more demand. You would think that the obvious answer would be obvious.
And yet, for years, experts and activists – and now the Green Party – have said the same thing: we need to harvest rainwater.
As a member state, Malta follows the EU’s Water Framework Directive, committed to achieving good quantity and quality of water.
The directive has specifically identified to Malta the importance of harvesting rainwater runoff.
Of course, harvesting rainwater is only part of the problem: even existing laws, such as the need to have a well, are poorly enforced.
And programmes like the provision of secondary grade water for agriculture have helped, but not resolved, the problem.
The system is at breaking point. A table published by the Water Unit showed that in 2023, almost all the water pumping stations in the north were full and overflowing to their surroundings.
It is, according to a Maltese water policy site, illegal for water runoff – from roofs and yards, for example – to end up in the sewers.
But what is the alternative, when very few developments have wells, or any form of water recycling?
Many Maltese buildings have disused or poorly maintained wells or cisterns. There should be incentives to restore and reintegrate them.
We need to establish regular inspection and maintenance schedules for public and heritage rainwater systems.
Because the situation is going to get worse, not better – and untended, it will become a crisis.
Once you factor in population growth, economic growth and the impact of climate change, it is clear that Malta needs every drop of water, now.
Because the stark reality is that Malta is the second most water-deprived country in Europe on the Water Exploitation Index Plus.