Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1224129
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 MARCH 2020 NEWS JAMES DEBONO GROUNDWATER extraction has increased by 52% between 2018 and 2019 and by 81% since 2017, official figures derived from 3,119 metered boreholes show. The sharpest increase in so- called abstraction of groundwa- ter was registered by the com- mercial sector, which includes water bottling companies and bowsers. Metered boreholes represent less than half of Malta's 8,000 registered boreholes and their users are not charged for using the public resource. While abstraction of water used for irrigation increased by 46% over 2018, the commercial sector has increased abstraction by 58%. The figures also show that while the vast majority of bore- holes extract less than 10,000 cubic metres a year, four bore- holes were extracting more than 60,000 cubic metres, up from three in 2018. While three of these boreholes are agricultural, one is used for commercial pur- poses. Moreover, 10 boreholes – in- cluding six commercial ones – are abstracting more than 30,000 cubic metres of water each. The total volume of groundwa- ter abstracted from all metered boreholes in 2019 amounted to 3,832,362 cb.m. This represents an increase of around 1.3 million cb.m over the volume abstracted from the same boreholes during 2018 and an increase of 1.7 million cb.m over 2017 figures. Metered abstraction from the 2,875 agricultural boreholes amounted to 2,999,358 cb.m, while that from the 244 com- mercial boreholes amounted to 833,004 cb.m. This means that the commer- cial sector, which includes water bottling companies as well as bowsers, now accounts for a fifth of metered abstraction. While on average agricultural boreholes abstract 1,043 cb.m of water, commercial boreholes ab- stract 3,414 cb.m of water. But the figures do not account for all the water abstracted by the agricultural sector. Manuel Sapiano, the chief ex- ecutive officer of the Energy and Water Agency, explained that figures do not include a number of boreholes which are not me- tered, including almost all shal- low wells (spieri) in the perched aquifer systems. These wells cannot technically be metered due to the nature of their abstraction equipment – which is either not permanent or located at the surface. Neither does it include "illegal and hence unmetered abstrac- tion sources, whose existence cannot be discounted when arriving at a total volume of groundwater abstracted". The Energy and Water Agen- cy estimates that the total ab- straction of groundwater from all aquifer systems amounts to 10.3 million cubic metres: three times the amount of abstracted groundwater which is metered, though still a far cry from pre- vious estimates which suggested an abstraction of over 20 million cb.m. The correction takes into con- sideration both registered bore- holes and groundwater sources which are not metered, and an estimate of illegal abstraction. It is important to highlight that this figure of 10.3 million cb.m represents the groundwater ab- stracted from all 15 groundwater bodies (aquifers), and not just the two mean sea level aquifer systems. According to Sapiano, this is an important consideration, because a large part of Malta's traditional irrigated agricultural land is located in areas having access to groundwater from the perched aquifer systems which are largely unmetered. While the mean sea level aq- uifer actually floats on a layer of sea water, perched aquifers are contained within the rock for- mations. Groundwater from the perched aquifer systems is today almost exclusively used for agricultural purposes. Commenting on the level of ab- straction from individual bore- holes Sapiano insists that the "vast majority of users" abstract limited volumes of water from their groundwater sources". This situation reflects the highly fragmented nature of ag- riculture in Malta – and hence the small agricultural land ar- eas which are served by these groundwater sources. "In fact, by far most agricul- tural groundwater sources actu- ally abstract less than an annual volume of 2,000 cb.m," Sapiano says. When asked what action is be- ing taken to limit abstraction by the few boreholes abstracting substantial amounts of water, Sapiano noted that the current legislation does not impose a volumetric limit on the amount of groundwater which can be abstracted from the respective source. But regulatory authorities still check users registering high-ab- straction volumes in order to advise, where applicable, on how water can be used more efficiently and effectively. In- spections undertaken on high abstractors in the agricultural sector have resulted in such high volumes due to the large size of the agricultural holdings irrigat- ed by this water. The Energy and Water Agency is currently assessing the tempo- ral distribution of groundwater abstraction from a selected ran- dom sample of these groundwa- ter sources. This analysis will enable a bet- ter understanding of how water is used, particularly in the agri- cultural sector. The first results show different abstraction char- acteristics, depending in general on the nature of the agricultural activities undertaken by the re- spective users, meaning ground- water distribution varies accord- ing to the cultivation of spring or summer crops in addition to winter crops; if only a winter crop is cultivated, or where per- manent crops such as vines are cultivated. The agency is also using satel- lite data to be able to cross-cor- relate groundwater abstraction with land-use, although the small size of agricultural areas (plots) in Malta is providing an added challenge to this exercise. This exercise is intended to de- velop tools which support regu- latory authorities in assisting the agricultural sector in improving the use of abstracted groundwa- ter. While abstraction from 244 commercial boreholes has increased by 58%, abstraction from 2,875 agricultural boreholes has increased by 46% Metered groundwater abstraction increases by 52% in just one year Groundwater from the perched aquifer systems is today almost exclusively used for agricultural purposes Agricultural boreholes Under 10,000 cb.m 2,523 10,001-20,000 cb.m 32 20,001-30,000 cb.m 7 30,001-40,000 cb.m 0 40,001-50,000 cb.m 0 50,001-60,000 cb.m 1 more than 60,001 cb.m 3 Commercial boreholes Under 10,000 cb.m 215 10,001-20,000 cb.m 19 20,001-30,000 cb.m 4 30,001-40,000 cb.m 3 40,001-50,000 cb.m 1 50,001-60,000 cb.m 1 more than 60,001 cb.m 1