Chadwick Lakes architect was charged over Miriam Pace’s death

The architect responsible for excavation works at Chadwick Lakes was the same architect who was declared guilty of causing the death of Miriam Pace. 

Roderick Camilleri, the 37-year-old architect, drew up the plans to rehabilitate Chadwick Lakes on behalf of the Energy & Water Agency (EWA).  

But last week, a road running alongside the reservoirs at Chadwick Lakes collapsed after a period of heavy rainfall.  

The collapse happened near the dam under Mtarfa, specifically by the retaining wall of the catchment area behind the dam. The retaining wall is made up of a masonry wall at the base and a concrete wall on the upper reaches.   

According to the EWA, preliminary investigations on site indicate that the collapse happened in the upper sections of the exposed concrete wall, rather than the masonry wall. A soil buttress was retained at the base of the catchment to help give additional support to the masonry wall. 

The collapse happened towards the left of the dam pictured above. Excavations during the regeneration project may have weakened the retaining wall, despite the addition of a soil buttress by the masonry wall.

In 2019, geologist Peter Gatt warned of instability in the clay channel walls of the lake due to the vertical walls cut into the clay sediments around the lake.  

He said that flooding from early rains would trigger instability in the clay channel walls, forcing the rocks and sediment to slide down and create a concave slump in the side.  

His prediction was proven to be correct. 

According to the Chadwick Lakes Trail, the affected area holds a large volume of water due to the nearby dam structure. The ‘lake’ water led to an inward pressure on the base of the valley walls, while the rainwater accumulating in the soil placed an outward pressure on the upper parts of the same wall.  

With heavy rainfall experienced in the days prior, the two opposing forces led to a rotational slump. Had the walls been cut at an angle, or with added buttressing material towards the bottom of the retaining wall, the collapse might have been avoided. 

A technical investigation is now underway to better determine the causes leading to the collapse. According to the EWA, first appraisals indicated that damage was only sustained in the concrete structure of the wall, which at the time would have been under increased pressure to the water-logged soil. 

Restoration 

Chadwick Lakes underwent restoration in 2019 to protect ecologically sensitive areas. €5 million was invested into the project, €4.3 million of which was funded by the EU.  

The project was two-fold: the works reinstated the storage capacity of existing dams while restoring the valley’s ecology. A lot of the work also focused on creating a water catchment for the storage of water behind the valley’s dams.  

A restoration of Chadwick Lakes was long-overdue. The environmental report carried out in 2018 found that the valley was in a deplorable state, with reduced surface water retention capacity and a proliferation of invasive and non-native plant species.  

Negligence charges 

Last July, Roderick Camilleri was one of two architects charged with negligently causing Miriam Pace’s death in 2020. Pace died in the rubble of her home, which collapsed following works on a construction site next door.  

The court declared that the two architects “betrayed their oath of appointment as architects”. Camilleri alone was found guilty of making a false declaration to the authorities after signing the condition reports in the documentation submitted to the authorities for the clearance on works to start.  

Between negligence and making false declarations, the court sentenced Camilleri to 480 hours of community service and a €10,000 fine.  

The separate magisterial inquiry into the death of Miriam Pace highlighted “clear negligence” on Camilleri’s part.  

The magistrate, Claire Stafrace Zammit, said that investigations showed clear negligence, a lack of adherence to regulation, and a lack of skill by the people responsible for the project.  

Despite the charges, Roderick Camilleri remains a warrant holder. His right to practice as a perit remained unaltered following the Court’s decision not to impinge upon his warrant.  

However, the Kamra tal-Periti is still investigating the matter. In comments to MaltaToday, the Kamra complained about a lack of cooperation from the Attorney General’s office. It said that several requests were submitted to the Attorney General for access to the procès-verbal and other evidence. However, these requests were dismissed. 

“This lack of cooperation is unnecessarily delaying the Kamra’s investigation,” President Andre Pizzuto said.  

Geological input needed 

Speaking to MaltaToday, Peter Gatt said that more geological input is needed when drafting and approving planning projects.  

“It is time to have a National Geological Service. Malta remains the only EU country without a geological service, and this places the country at a disadvantage,” he said.   

For Gatt, the excavations left the retaining wall vulnerable to failure. Vertical cuts into the clay would have also left the clay unstable. 

“Both banks would become unstable when saturated with water, as happened a few days ago,” he said.  

However, the Kamra tal-Periti insisted that road collapse was an issue of civil engineering rather than geology. Pizzuto remarked that only a civil engineer could determine whether a civil engineering intervention is adequate or otherwise, be it an embankment, foundation, or geotechnical engineering intervention.  

“What the country needs is greater investment in specialisations within the civil engineering side of our profession,” Pizzuto said. “This is an area the Kamra is working strongly in, and will be in a position to elaborate further in the coming months.”