Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1450614
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 FEBRUARY 2022 NEWS LUKE VELLA FARMERS whose living depends on the fields they work in the Ta' Barkat area in Xgħajra have been left frustrated after promises of a steady supply of high quality wa- ter for their crops, did not ma- terialise. In 2018, a third "New Water" polishing plant was inaugurat- ed in the Ta' Barkat area – a waste-water treatment plant where filtered waste water un- dergoes a sophisticated polish- ing filtration that turns it into pure water for use in agriculture, industry and landscaping. Farmers in the area said that up until four years ago, the would collect rainwater in their res- ervoirs, which now had turned bone dry. Francis, one of the farmers who spoke to MaltaTo- day, said he made use of bore- holes that collected water from a valley close by – but things changed since works were car- ried out on the reservoirs. "The boreholes are now dry and I don't have any water for the crops. I got a water bowser, as suggested by the authorities, but I'm not even using it, as there is no water." The farmers claim that before the New Water plant was built, they had an abundant water sup- ply in the reservoirs. "The wa- ter was not of great quality, but we had enough. However, the current situation is disastrous. Everyone is taking us for fools. You phone here, you phone there and no one helps. We are in a dire situation." Francis says the little water he manages to reserve is used for his strawberries. "Right now, I'm relying on rain water but when it stops, I'm not able to carry out any work. Strawberries require good water and I can't use water purchased from water bowser services." One farmer said he lost half of his strawberry crop even after using the new water from the Ta' Barkat. Suspicious of the quality of the water, he had it tested on 22 June 2021 with a conductivity sensor, finding it to have 5.14 parts per thousand (ppt) salinity. Another test on 9 July 2021 found 1.41 ppt. The standard salinity of freshwater is right around 0.5ppt or lower – far lower than the lev- els found during these tests. "We expected some hiccups when the plant opened in 2018, but we never imagined such a situation," another farmer, Mi- chael, said. "The reservoirs were always filled with water before, which we used to collect ourselves. When they carried out works on the reservoirs, they started distributing water directly to us farmers. It's not an efficient sys- tem, as most of the time the wa- ter was supplied at night, when we want to rest like everyone else." Reservoirs promised by 2020 never materialised, except for the distribution networks for ne water. "Despite the promises, nowadays we are not even get- ting water from the plant direct- ly." He said they are still paying €25 for the water annually, even though they are barely getting any. "If I had paid the €25 for a bowser of water, I would have at least got something in return. Instead I got nothing." The farmers say their pleas to the energy and agricultural min- istries, and the Water Services Corporation, have so far proved fruitless. The Nationalist Party's spokes- person Peter Agius met the farm- ers as well. "The canals that are supposed to deliver EU-funded water, are dry," Agius said. "This investment is essential for Mal- ta, however it is useless to spend millions, if there is no political will to deliver results. There are parts in Malta where the New Water system is working but this is definitely not the case in Żabbar." The New Water programme is part-financed by the European Union and provides up to 35% of current total water demand for agriculture. The Ta' Barkat plant produces 7 billion litres of new water annually, with a €20 million network distributing the water to the fields at subsidised rates of €25 a year. Malcolm Borg, the coordinator of Għaqda Bdiewa Attivi, said he is aware of the situation, calling the New Water project a "victim of its success". "Without it the farmers would be solely dependent on water from boreholes, which is of a minor quality in comparison to the treated one from the plant," Borg said. "Farmers require this type of water but they can't work well with the current volatile supply. They are currently in limbo as the supply is never steady and it fluctuates." Borg said that after millions spent on the plants, it was cru- cial to maximise those benefits. "A farmer has to plan four to five months in advance. Should there be no water for them, they would not be able to proceed with their original plans." The Water Services Corpo- ration is aware of the prob- lem, saying final testing of the Barkat-Sant Antnin connec- tion means new water is being pumped outside the infrastruc- ture. "We understand this tempo- rary inconvenience, but these wet commissioning tests at St Antnin are critical in our plans to improve new water produc- tion in the south," spokesperson Pablo Micallef said. "We expect normal production of new water to resume towards the end of this month whilst as- suring users that water pumped outside our infrastructure is rig- orously tested to meet stringent applicable quality parameters." Micallef urged farmers to con- tact the WSC helpline, for inves- tigations to be carried out. "Un- til we finalise a closed, secure, new water dispensing system, we cannot exclude third party con- tamination issues, which is why our reservoirs are being roofed and secured," Micallef said. The reservoirs are also EU-funded and will form part of a state-of-the-art New Water closed-controlled network, cov- ering over 40km with 200 intelli- gent-access dispensers. Ta' Barkat farmers without water 'New Water' plant promised to deliver ample clean water but farmers say water is scarce and of poor quality PHOTOS BY JAMES BIANCHI