The government has proposed a new regulatory system to extract and use groundwater, with a system of licences and tariffs to be introduced for the use of boreholes. 

In a technical briefing on Thursday, Energy Minister Miriam Dalli announced that the government is putting these proposals up for public consultation in an effort to further reduce the country’s use of groundwater and allow it to properly replenish. 

According to the most recently available data, Malta gets 36% of its public water supply from the water table while the rest is produced thanks to desalination plants.

However, the agricultural industry gets around 83% of its water supply through groundwater, a figure that authorities are actively trying to reduce by offering farmers treated wastewater and encouraging the use of systems to harvest rainwater.

Although laws were enacted limiting the use of groundwater and restricting the opening of new boreholes in the past, the use of groundwater for commercial purposes has remained free until now. 

The government’s new "green paper" is primarily proposing regulating the use of groundwater by requiring those who want to use it to apply for a license.

Dalli said licenses will be issued for a definite term and require renewal for continued use. The licenses will also be subject to restriction based on the quality of the groundwater and the impact of climate change. 

The policy also proposes introducing a price policy for borehole extraction, with commercial users being expected to pay for making use of groundwater.

Farmers will be allotted a quota of groundwater they are entitled to use for free, which will vary depending on the size of their operation, but will also be expected to pay for borehole extraction if they exceed their quota. 

Once licensees are established, the government said it also plans to introduce a publicly available register of people who are allowed to extract groundwater. 

Energy and Water Agency (EWA) CEO Manuel Sapiano said that this register, together with real-time monitoring systems already in place in the water table, will allow authorities to better pinpoint areas where water is being extracted illegally.  

Sapiano said that while the quality of Malta’s groundwater has improved since the 1980s - when it registered as the most saline it has ever been - the overall quality of the country’s main aquifer systems is in a “poor quantitative status”. 

“While the system has proven to be resilient, we cannot continue to rely on a resilient system, because eventually it will collapse,” he said. 

Asked whether there are plans to exclude any type of industry from extracting groundwater, Sapiano said that there are no plans to exclude any one sector. 

Data tabled in parliament last year showed that concrete batching plants guzzled up 95 million litres of groundwater in 2019, which was not subject to any fees. 

Sapiano added that part of the effort to reduce groundwater dependence will include measures and support to actively discourage industry from using it. As an example, he said that local bottled water producers used to be the number one consumer of groundwater but that over time they completely stopped this practice.

“The principle is the same, if we push them to use their water efficiently and use systems to recycle water, then we can reduce the need for groundwater,” he said, adding that cost is not the only driver to move industry to change. 

Dalli said that, in tandem, the government will also be using some €25 million from EU funds to continue expanding the new water system - which provides treated water to farmers - as part of the effort. 

While new water is still in the process of being rolled out in its entirety, it was initially planned to reduce groundwater extraction for agriculture by 35%. The additional investment will see that figure bumped to 50%. Currently, new water only makes up some 8% of the water used in agriculture. 

The government will also offer the industry free water audits from EWA and will implement financial assistance for businesses that want to invest in water-saving technology. Businesses that get a water audit and implement all the recommendations suggested will be eligible for a discount on their water extraction tariffs, she said. 

The public consultation is open until January 18. The public can send submissions to konsultazzjoni.gov.mt or by sending an email to era.policy@era.org.mt