Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1491941
NEWS 5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 8 FEBRUARY 2023 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 According to the Minister no statistics are available be- fore 2016 as this information was not compiled at the time. The information is now being "evaluated" by the authorities. Another parliamentary ques- tion by Zammit in October last year had already revealed that the amount of water extracted from the water table to pro- duce concrete has shot up from 3,996 cubic metres in 2014 to 62,231 cubic metres in 2021. Data presented in parliament had shown that the equivalent of 200 million bottles of water was extracted by construction companies between 2014 and 2021. Although the extraction of ground water from the water table is metered, companies making use of this scarce pub- lic resource are not metered. In this case beverage com- panies are extracting water for free which is subsequent- ly treated, bottled and sold to consumers or given away as freebies from supermarkets. Statistics provided to Malta- Today by the Energy and Wa- ter Agency in 2019 had already show that extraction from 244 commercial, non-agricultur- al boreholes amounted to 833 million litres. This means that the commercial sector - which includes water bottling com- panies, bowsers and concrete plants - accounts for one-fifth of all metered extraction. The over-extraction of groundwater not only depletes the scarce resource, but also contributes to increased salin- ity inisde the acquifer. Malta's most important aqui- fer system, the Mean Sea Lev- el aquifer system, consists of a freshwater lens that actually floats on seawater, and there- fore this aquifer is bounded by saline water at the sides and the bottom. Over-extraction ends up changing the shape of the aqui- fer, and draws in more saltwa- ter and increases salinity in the remaining groundwater. The problem is recognised in the recently-published Na- tional Strategy for the Environ- ment 2050, which is currently open for public consultation. The strategy states that en- suring sustainable water re- sources is one of the key objec- tives of Malta's environmental plans and actions for the next three decades. In October last year a spokes- person for energy minister Mir- iam Dalli told MaltaToday that the government is considering "measures and incentives" to encourage sustainable use of this natural water resource by commercial sectors, including industry and construction. On his part Stanley Zam- mit, an engineer and the PN's spokesperson for planning, research and innovation, had proposed that large scale ac- tivities like concrete plants which are regulated through an environmental permit is- sued by the Environment and Resources Authority should be disincentivised from extracting groundwater through specific conditions in the same permit requesting the collection and use of rainwater, recycle and re-use of water. He also proposed a planning gain contribution imposed on those who continue extracting groundwater "which should be transparently directed to ini- tiatives and projects aimed to replenish the groundwater and reduce the amount of rainwa- ter being lost to the sea." NICOLE MEILAK A team of Maltese rescuers is in the Turkish city of Malatya to help in efforts to locate and extricate victims trapped beneath the rubble of a hotel that collapsed after Monday's earthquakes. The Maltese Civil Protection Department said its team of 32 people and one rescue dog are involved in the search for 120 people who are missing but in contact. At least eight of the victims are buried un- der the debris of the hotel in the city that is located north of the epicentre of Monday's quakes. The Maltese team is part of a wider international effort to aid Turkey, which asked for assistance in search and rescue operations that have been made more difficult by rain and snow. Across southern Turkey and northern Syria a massive rescue operation is underway as the death toll from the earthquakes has now risen above 5,000. The earthquakes caused widespread dev- astation and left more than 15,000 injured and homeless. Victims have resorted to sending voice notes from beneath the rubble to inform relatives and journalists of their live locations. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday has announced a three-month state of emergency across 10 provinces. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Gaziantep, in the southeast of Turkey, in the early hours of Mon- day morning while people were still asleep. A second tremor of magnitude 7.5 hit at around 1:30pm local time. Officials said this was not an aftershock and was independent from the first quake. Maltese rescuers on site of collapsed hotel in Turkish city of Malatya as quake death toll rises Extraction of free ground water from the water table peaked at 72,531 cubic meters in 2019 Amount of water extracted from water table by beverage producers Total in six years: 216,479 cubic metres