Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1035530
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 3 OCTOBER 2018 4 NEWS MINISTRY FOR HEALTH PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARIAT FOR EUROPEAN FUNDS AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE PUBLIC HEALTH IS YOUR GUARANTEE. TAKE PART. NATIONAL SURVEY ON THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH PROJECT PART-FINANCED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION JAMES DEBONO ALTHOUGH many have been surprised and shocked that the new Balluta beach which cost taxpayers €110,000 has lost most of its sand, the MTA pro- ject was from the start meant to last only one summer. People may have been less shocked had the authorities heeded the advice of the pro- ject's environmental consult- ants ADI who, back in March, had called on the authorities to properly explain the pro- ject to the public. "It is important that such a project by carefully explained to the public and the media to make it clear that…the beach is expected to disappear over a period of time following which the feasibility of under- taking such a re-nourishment exercise on an annual or regu- lar basis will be evaluated". A Project Development Statement presented to the Environment and Resources Authority had made it clear that this year's beach exten- sion was being proposed as "a pilot project" aimed at tem- porarily extending the beach by reclaiming sand from the seabed within the bay itself to provide a bathing amenity for the summer months. "From the results of past hydrodynamic studies, the beach is not expected to be stable in the long term; how- ever, it is expected to provide a bathing amenity at least for one summer". The extent of sand loss had to be determined at the end of the first summer "in order to assess the feasibility of re- peating such a management intervention in subsequent years." When launching the project in August, Minister Konrad Mizzi focused on the creation of a new beach even if he did warn that the beach was "not a permanent one and that other interventions will be needed in future because of the sea currents". In fact, a similar project be- ing conducted at Ghadira also includes a permanent sub- merged sea wall and jetties whose environmental impact is being currently evaluated. Balluta sandy beach extension was meant to last one summer KARL AZZOPARDI FIVE divers were saved off Go- zo yesterday, as heavy rain and thunderstorms hit Malta, the Armed Forces of Malta said. In the first rescue opera- tion, an Irish diver had to be winched out of the water by an army helicopter. A second rescue operations took place at Wied il-Għasri when the AFM vessel, Melita 2, pulled out four divers from the sea. All divers were taken to the Gozo General Hospital for ob- servation. The Armed Forces of Malta has asked divers and diving instructors to exercise caution in such torrential weather. Heavy showers and thunder- storms are expected to con- tinue for the rest of the week. AFM rescues five divers off Gozo The AFM's AW9 helicopter was used to rescue an Irish diver