No meters for boreholes

The vast majority of Malta’s 7,500 registered boreholes remain without meters, as only 109 boreholes have been so far been affixed with a meter more than a year after Resources Minister George Pullicino promised that all would be metered by the end of 2010.

But the government will soon be in a position to know how much water is being extracted free of charge by commercial entities other than farmers. This because meters are being installed in all 256 commercial boreholes.

The Resources Authority has also closed down 200 boreholes exclusively used for domestic consumption.

Meters will enable the government to quantify groundwater extraction by all operators and possibly to impose a charge on a resource which has be “free of charge” for the past decades.

So far 109 commercial boreholes have been metered, while 30 are awaiting installation by the Water Services Corporation.

A further 117 commercial boreholes, including those used by water suppliers who sell groundwater they extract for free to consumers, had to pay the necessary fees for the installation of meters by June 19.

This would bring the total number of metered boreholes to 256.

In April 2010 Minister George Pullicino promised that groundwater extraction would be metered by year’s end “so that the authorities could have a clear picture of the amount extracted and from which areas.”

But in January 2011 Pullicino announced that the government would first concentrate on metering commercial boreholes before addressing boreholes in the agricultural sector.

The over-extraction of water from boreholes has contributed to increased salinity levels in ground water. Experts warn that if extraction from boreholes were not controlled groundwater would become too salty to be used for irrigation.

But so far no boreholes used for agricultural purposes have been metered, the MRA spokesperson confirmed. The vast majority of boreholes are used by this sector, which relies on free ground water for its agricultural needs.

‘Water suppliers’, who presently deliver water in bowsers, are among those operators who had to pay the fees for installing meters by last week. The government is already committed to introduce a tariff on water extraction by this sector.

Manufacturers of soft drinks and table water also use commercial boreholes.

Legal notice 241 of 2010 requires the metering of all registered groundwater sources, except for those in which no pump or other mechanical device to extract groundwater is used and sources extracting less than one cubic metre of water daily.

The MRA is not yet in a position to reveal how much water is being extracted by different sectors.

Although the Authority has in its possession readings taken from several metered sources, the data collected so far is not enough to provide a clear picture of what is being extracted by each sector.

Moreover a whole year will be required to establish the amount of water extracted since the demand from certain sectors varies from one season to another.

In January 2011 Resources Minister George had announced that his first priority was to meter commercial boreholes, of which 23 had already been metered by that time.

He also promised that the installation costs of meters were to be footed by an EU programme.

The government has already committed itself to establishing a quota of water needed to irrigate the amount of land tilled by each farmer, above which they will not be charged.

But if a farmer was found to be extracting water not just for his agricultural needs but also for commercial purposes, his extraction would no longer be free because he would be using vital resources belonging to the people.