A team of researchers led by scientists from the University of Malta discovered large supplies of groundwater under southern Sicily.

The “extensive” water supplies are thought to be trapped between 700 and 2,500 feet below Sicily’s Hyblean Mountains between Ragusa, Catania and Syracuse. 

According to the researchers, the underground reservoir is believed to hold both fresh and saltwater supplies and is thought to have formed some six million years ago when the sea level dropped by around 2,400 metres.  

It was discovered using an innovative approach combining oil drilling techniques and 3D modelling. The team hopes this same approach could help find other sources of groundwater in Malta and other countries.  

“This innovative approach could be extended to other areas of the Mediterranean characterised by water scarcity,” said University of Malta and National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in Italy researcher Lorenzo Lipparini. 

“Thanks to the results achieved, it will now be possible to try to identify new accumulations in areas such as Malta, Cyprus, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey, to name a few,” the lead researcher said. 

The search focused on an area in Southern Sicily. Photo: Communications Earth and Environment journal, Nature.

Such groundwater could be used for industrial and agricultural purposes. It could also prove to be an important source of drinking water as the world struggles to grapple with a rapidly growing population, Lipparini explained. 

“We have utilised the team's expertise, developed in the field of oil exploration, to search for potential valuable deep groundwater resources to support sustainable development, which will also enable the challenges of water security to be addressed”, he said.  

Fellow researcher Prof Aaron Micallef from the Department of Geosciences at the University of Malta said the project showed the "huge benefit of scientists working with colleagues with extensive experience in industry, and of geological data sets being made available by government." 

The announcement comes less than a year after a team of scientists led by Micallef discovered a 75-year supply of drinking water beneath the seabed off Malta.

Such initiatives could prove especially useful for Malta, which does not have access to rivers, streams and lakes like many other countries. Instead, the country relies on groundwater, with recent figures showing it accounted for 36% of its public water supply and 83% of the agricultural supply.  

A 3D render of the area. Photo: Communications Earth and Environment journal, Nature.

In November, Energy Minister Miriam Dalli introduced a new regulatory system for the extraction and use of groundwater to reduce the country’s use and allow supplies to replenish properly, requiring those who want to access groundwater to apply for a license.  

Under the scheme, farmers will be allotted a quota of groundwater to use for free but will be expected to pay if they exceed it.  

The results of the recent discovery were published in the Nature journal Communications Earth and Environment and involved scientists from the Universities of Malta and Rome and the INGV in Italy. 

The project was listed as an 'action' at the UN Water Conference in March, with funding for the research provided through a Marie Curie Grant project with the University of Malta, and the support of the University of Rome and INGV.