Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/606717
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 25 NOVEMBER 2015 5 harassed and bullied before her peers and the entire nation, is of deep concern and should immedi- ately attract the condemnation of Malta's equality bodies, relevant civil society organisations and all political stakeholders. Anything short of this tells violent partners, colleagues and parents that their behaviour is, in fact, quite fine," Falzon said. "Malta hosting the Common- wealth Heads of Government Meeting, together with the im- portant People's and Women's Fo- ra, is an excellent opportunity for it to stand firmly on the side of hu- man rights and good governance. Friday's episode and reactions to date do not seem to indicate that Malta is actually capable of such a stand." News Debono Grech threat shows accountability' Boreholes: It pays to extract more JAMES DEBONO IT pays to extract large amounts of ground water, according to sta- tistics based on the meter read- ings of private boreholes carried out between June 2014 and May 2015. For while borehole owners ex- tracting less than 300 cubic me- tres a year of water end up paying more than they would if they get the same amount from tap water, users consuming five times as much, or more than 1,450 cubic metres a year, pay only a fourth of the price of tap water. This emerges from a report pre- sented by the Sustainable Energy and Water Conservation Unit presented to the Malta Environ- ment and Planning Authority in September. Non-residential users presently pay two cents for every cubic me- tre of tap water. The average amount of water extracted from boreholes for agri- cultural use amounts to 1,528 cu- bic metres a year while the average amount extracted by the commer- cial sector, which includes bows- ers and industrial users, amounts to 3,530 cubic metres a year. According to the report the com- mercial sector accounts for 23% of private ground water use. This indicates that on average it costs less than 30 cents for com- mercial users to extract a cubic metre of ground water. The study was based on a sample of metre readings of 500 to 880 private boreholes registered as be- ing used for agricultural purposes between June 2014 and May 2015 and an unspecified number of pri- vate boreholes. According to the report "a sig- nificant number of users", who are extracting below average could be paying higher rates than the "production cost" of alternative sources of water. But the statistics confirm that for the average farmer who consumes more than 1,528 cubic metres of ground water from a depth of 80 metres, it would still be cheaper than "buying" treated sewage at its production cost. Presently treated sewage is still disposed directly into the sea but plans are underway to further polish treated sewage. The water will be either used to replenish ground water sources or by the ag- ricultural and industrial sectors. At present rates the cost of ex- tracting less than 1,000 cubic me- tres of water from the water table is more than the cost of producing the same amount of treated sew- age effluent. Extracting 800 cu- bic metres of ground water costs more than producing the same amount of treated sewage which undergoes further "polishing." The financial cost of ground wa- ter extraction depends on the vol- ume of water extracted, the power rating of the pumping equipment and the depth of the borehole. Non-residential users presently pay 2c for every cubic metre of tap water Joe Debono Grech (left) threatened to beat up independent MP Marlene Farrugia Cruise ships set to berth off Xlendi JAMES DEBONO TRANSPORT Malta is propos- ing a mooring buoy, located ap- proximately 1.5 kilometres off the picturesque Ras il-Bajda point at Xlendi. A Transport Malta spokes- person confirmed that the buoy is intended for the mooring of "small cruise ships" during fair weather and sea conditions. The buoy will be tied with a chain to a sinker in the seabed. The ships would use their own tenders to ferry passengers to and from Xlendi bay. The application is for the in- stallation of the buoy. The re- furbishment of the landing place within the bay is also part of the project. The impressive coastal cliffs of Ras il-Bajda are designated as an area of ecological importance and an area of high landscape values. In November 2013 the govern- ment issued an international call for expressions of interest for the cruise liner terminal in Gozo which would attract larger cruise ships. Only one proposal was made, by Kalamarine Ltd, which proposed a residential de- velopment, a yacht marina and a cruise terminal in a quarry in Qala. Cruise ships would need tenders to ferry passengers to and from Xlendi bay Republic Street, Valletta next to the Courts