Natural reaction

Words worth remembering are those of Environment Minister George Pullicino commenting on beaches in Malta and Gozo this summer: "Beaches are dynamic coastal areas and their equilibrium can be easily upset by inappropriate action that does not address the beach as a natural system."

But when is a beach a beach? Does this policy apply to rocky bathing areas too? After the dumping of sand on the rocks at L-Ahrax Point, beyond White Tower Bay, we still have not heard from the authorities whether this was permitted or an illegal activity.

Now MEPA is faced with another application, this time for a "perched sand beach" opposite the Dolmen Hotel. It might have been another case of dumping sand on the shoreline, shaving off more remnants of natural coast, this time in the resort town of Bugibba.

Developers are quick to seize an opportunity. The idea of wooden walkways on rocky coasts has evolved at their hands into vast sandboxes on suspended platforms to get around planning guidelines precluding developments (of any type including tourist facilities) on the foreshore.

The trouble with this particular stretch of rocks is that it has grown into an unexpected oasis complete with rushes and a constant stream of water trickling across the rocks into the sea. The water pouring out of a plastic drainpipe appears to be an illegal waste water outlet.

It is not sewage. The constant flow is more likely to be what is known as grey water, originating from showers and wash basins, nourishing an uncharacteristic green spot on the rocks. The water is cleansed to some extent by the same plants it feeds as it trickles through the marsh to the sea. Little white girls with nets, and their brothers, delight in exploring the wilds of this urban ecosystem.

Bringing in truckloads of quarry sand to blanket the rocks, the reeds and reroute the offending waste water may solve the immediate problem of this man-made mini-marsh which thrives, rather unexpectedly, in the midst of this holiday zone.

The question of how sand brought in might be expected to remain "perched" on the rocks resisting winter storm waves and weather needs to be looked at. Any suggestion to replace sand, which would be swept away every year, with a fresh layer would be out of the question. It would be the equivalent of dumping sand directly into the sea with a long-term impact on the seabed and the marine life community in that particular area.

An ecological approach to the problem of the marsh-on-the-rocks might be possible if the origin of the water could be traced. It is not unlikely that it comes from a nearby hotel. After registering the culprit with the Water Services Corporation an agreement could be reached (rather than tearing up the Bugibba promenade to correct the mistake). Conditions to be borne by the polluter could include developing the marsh as a feature to illustrate how grey water can be purified by certain plants providing an unusual waterfall into the sea, attracting dragonflies and serving as a drinking place for birds.

Unfortunately for this eco-idyll, the authorities have had little success in their efforts to trace the waste water back to its starting point. As things go, plans are now being made to divert the discharge water from the drain, which is to be collected in a sump and channelled back into the main sewer.

Although the product development section within the Malta Tourism Authority does not consider a detailed environment impact assessment to be necessary, this should in fact be carried out. Full studies are needed to determine whether sandy material from a terrestrial source when placed in a kind of giant sandbox at the water's edge could damage the marine environment if washed out to sea during winter storms. Such a study can only be carried out across a span of the months known for grigal weather throughout the year.

The planning application for this latest beach project includes a proposal for "construction of public toilets and showers" on the rocks when there already is a public convenience a few hundred metres away. The idea of free public showers on a bathing beach in a semi-arid region of the Mediterranean needs to be checked. No doubt MEPA has invited comments from the Water Directorate within the Malta Resources Authority, which should be taken into serious consideration when processing the application.

Why does everyone, including some authorities, behave as if we have water to throw away? It may be because, despite every effort by the MRA to put things right, government is like a stick in the mud when it comes to cracking down on individuals who are stealing water from the aquifer by pumping from unlicensed boreholes and selling it to anyone happy to pay less than official water rates.

If we were to behave sustainably, for just a moment, we would acknowledge that we can ill afford to throw away good quality drinking water from the public mains just so that bathers do not have to cross the road to take a shower in their own hotel room or holiday apartment.

Safe to swim

Weekly reports on the quality of bathing water compiled by the Environmental Health Unit can be viewed on the Website of the Department of Health at www.sahha.gov.mt (Click on Departments - Health Inspectorate - Weekly Bathing Monitoring Report).

The testing of samples from bathing sites which the Environmental Health Unit has been carrying out since 2002 started again this year on May 20. The first week of monitoring revealed a clean slate with all 87 monitored sites conforming to EU standards for bathing water quality.

After that, intermittent warnings that swimming was not safe at four sites, ranging from two to eight days, were issued for Xghajra, Fond Ghadir, Balluta, and near Sirens' Pitch whenever sewage overflow or other problems propelled coliform levels over the safety limit. This amounted at the time of writing to over 20 swimming days when people were cautioned to stay out of the water at these bathing sites. Online readings to speed up the information flow are the next step needed to narrow the gap between failed test results and their publication in the press.

There is further room for improvement in the way online information is presented to the public. At design level, a direct link from the Health Department's homepage would save seekers of information on bathing water quality the chore of deep-web diving down the wrong corridors, with much backtracking... before wading into the required report. Even after tracking down the report, you may find that the information, although clearly presented, is not in a form that can be easily understood.

Readings for some of the tested sites posted on the Internet do more to alarm than reassure. Red lettering is used to indicate wherever there is a bathing site which has failed EU standards or classifies the site as Class 3 under the Barcelona Convention system of monitoring.

Principal health inspector Charles Bonnici is quick to point out that these are not actual results but averages worked out by percentage on previous readings. So despite having the carefully prepared charts for 87 bathing sites sent out weekly to all local councils and posted on the department's Website, the classifications have been all but incomprehensible to the average person.

Mr Bonnici confirms that a clear picture of how different sites have compared for bathing water quality will only become evident at the end of October when monitoring comes to an end. Anyone extending their bathing into November or beyond is on their own as no testing is done in those months.

Next season, he adds, a more user-friendly system could be put in place, providing the public with actual results - more immediately available online - of tests indicating clean (or unclean) seas with a smiling (or frowning) face. Easy access to information on where and when it is safe to swim is crucial to public health to avoid ear, throat and tummy upsets from swimming in dirty water.

The new EU directive on bathing water quality proposes near-real time information about bathing areas, the obligation to act within a certain timeframe when water quality deteriorates and use of the Internet to provide information on water quality

Earlier this summer the tourism minister, speaking on beach management at St George's Bay, said that this was to include the testing of bathing water quality every week. But where can the public view the results of water tested off the sandy beach at St George's Bay? The Department of Health provides for two sites tested off the rocks. However the Blue Flag scheme obliges beach operators to test water off the beach itself and in the area where bathing is most frequent.

Is this another case of waving the Blue Flag in the media without the necessary follow-up? It has been announced that the pilot beach project is now "completed. No cutting corners please - this is our health. Blue Flag criteria insist that it must be a non-governmental organisation (not an authority) which is responsible for monitoring. No such organisation has yet been identified.

On a positive note, after complaints last month, the presence of security officers patrolling the beach have brought about a visible change in the drinking habits of students, especially minors, frequenting the beach.

Still, it is essential to keep a sharp eye at all times. "We cannot even go and have a coffee..." reported one of the officers. But constant surveillance appears to be having the desired effect. On this count congratulations are due to the Malta Tourism Authority for the swift response and their including the necessary instructions in the officers' brief.

Citizen's text arrest

Who has not spewed a string of oaths stuck without mercy behind a smoking tailpipe? Locked into lane, helpless drivers and their passengers choke on clouds of poisonous exhaust emitted by trucks, buses, and private and government vehicles as they go about their daily business.

While some have thrilled to a new feeling of empowerment brought about by the ADT emissions alert initiative, others have expressed concerns.

Behind unfounded fears of being robbed by the phone companies may lie a collective discomfort with the breaking of the common ethos that "thou shalt not rat on thy neighbour as he may rat right back on you".

The ADT campaign has put particular emphasis on the dangers of gaseous emissions and particulates (sooty particles) being dispersed into the air by vehicles on our roads. Young children in pushchairs and toddlers are especially in danger from emissions on the road.

Their low height puts them in a high-risk category since, on our narrow pavements, they are often inches away from tailpipes which discharge cancerous fumes directly into their little lungs.

Make sure to punch that number into your phone - SMS 5061-1899 - and take comfort. Next time you cannot breathe on the road chant the license number until you are able to pull over safely and send it as a text message to the ADT. This is a last resort after waiting without hope for some authority to manifest both omnipresence and clout. Time will tell whether the system will collapse, or not, under a deluge of Smoky Motorway Signals.

In passing, it is only fair to mention that the Pollution Co-ordinating and Control Unit within MEPA has an air quality monitoring network of diffusion tubes taking monthly readings for benzene, toluene, xylene, ethyl benzene, SO2, NO2 and Ozone at 31 localities.

Making the results of these tests available on the MEPA Website, in a form that can be easily understood by the public (including children) would further increase awareness on the responsibility to reduce pollution. The public now has a right to this information on request thanks to the Aarhus Convention and the EU directive which backs it up.

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