Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1510125
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 OCTOBER 2023 NEWS JAMES DEBONO QORMI is the locality where most people face the highest risk of flooding, followed by Birkirkara, a draft policy docu- ment shows. There are 563 Qormi resi- dents and 491 people in Birkir- kara who live in zones at the highest risk of flooding. The document drawn up by the Energy and Water Agen- cy addresses flooding issues in Malta and makes several pro- posals to mitigate the impact. The policy suggests the in- clusion of rainwater harvesting infrastructure in new develop- ments approved by the Plan- ning Authority. It argues that these measures could save ap- proximately 70,000 cubic me- tres of water annually. The document identifies the areas most prone to flooding in Malta and Gozo and assigns a risk factor (RF), ranging from four (RF4), which may entail significant human, natural, economic, historical, and cul- tural losses, to one (RF1), rep- resenting very low risk. Localities with lower risk are mostly affected during rainfall events with a probability of oc- currence once every 50 or 200 years. The areas with higher risk fac- tors are those where flooding occurs frequently throughout the year, posing a significant danger to assets of natural, economic, historical, and cul- tural significance. The proposed plan suggests prioritising RF4 areas when implementing flood mitigation measures. The document also identifies the number of households and residents exposed to each type of risk in various localities. All the localities in this map- ping exercise fall within Malta's water catchment areas - where water passes through valleys. Populous catchment areas The most populous catch- ment areas are the Birkirka- ra catchment, which includes Msida, parts of Attard, Lija, Balzan, and Birkirkara; and the Qormi catchment, which in- cludes Qormi, part of Attard, Zebbug, Siggiewi, and Rabat. In the Birkirkara catchment, 4,345 people are exposed to some degree of flood risk - 3,502 people in Birkirkara and 359 in Msida. Among those living in the highest risk zones, there are 491 residing in Birkirkara and 300 in Msida. In the Qormi catchment, 1,717 residents are exposed to some degree of risk - 1,172 in Qormi and 249 in Attard. Qormi is the locality with the largest number of people in Malta facing the highest risk – 563 residents living in six streets, including Triq il-Wied, Triq San Bastjan, and Triq San Frangisk. Other areas with a significant number of residents at high risk of flooding include Fon- tana (176), St Paul's Bay (194), and Marsaskala (257). In Marsaskala, the streets exposed to the highest risk of flooding is found in Triq San Gwakkin, Triq La Sengle, and Triq Buzbiez, which are in the old village core. Qormi's particular exposure In the Qormi catchment, flood hazard areas are primari- ly located along natural valleys, especially those that have seen urban sprawl. The document says these ar- eas in Qormi include many commercial properties and floods could also lead to signif- icant transport disruptions. In the Birkirkara catchment the greatest risk is found along Valley Road and Triq Dun Gae- tano Mannarino both of which form part of a valley. In the Marsaskala catchment, flood risk areas are mainly lo- cated in the lower portion of the catchment area, where ur- banization obstructs the natu- ral flow of stormwater runoff. The risk is highest during once-in-every-200-year storm events. The urban areas most at risk are found along Triq La Sengle and Triq San Gwakkin. Water saving measures The draft policy suggests the inclusion of rainwater harvest- ing infrastructures in new de- velopments, indicating these could result in an annual wa- ter savings of approximately 70,000 cubic meters. To put this into perspective, 70,000 cubic meters of water is equivalent to the amount of water contained in 28 Olym- pic-sized swimming pools. It would also provide enough wa- ter to irrigate 10 football fields for a year and roughly match the annual water usage of over 200 households. The proposed plan also in- cludes a revision of the existing Qormi, Birkirkara face highest