Groundwater: over 35% ‘freely’ taken by bottlers, bowsers and construction

A staggering 1.7 million cubic metres of water in 2023 was abstracted from the ground for various non-agricultural purposes, including commercial use by bowsers, beverage and construction companies, as well as domestic use.

Data provided to MaltaToday by the Energy and Water Agency (EWA) shows a sharp increase in this non-agricultural uptake of groundwater compared to 2019, when only half this amount was abstracted by non-agricultural sources.

Metered abstraction from non-agricultural sources has now increased from 833,004 cubic metres in 2019 to 1,713,982 cubic metres in 2023, while that from agricultural boreholes has only  increased marginally from 2.9cb.m to 3.2 cb.m.

And while non-agricultural abstraction in 2019 accounted for 21% of the total amount of groundwater taken from the ground, by 2023 it had grow exponentially to 35% of the total amount of groundwater abstracted.

READ ALSO: We do not use free groundwater - Farsons

In 2023, two boreholes alone abstracted over 50,000 cubic metres of groundwater, down from six in 2019.

All registered groundwater sources, except old hand-dug wells known in Maltese as ‘spieri’, are metered, given the EWA a clear idea of how much of this natural resource of water is used.

Yet, no tariffs are imposed on the water used, which means bowsers that fill up swimming pools, construction companies, or even some bottling firms that use the water for their sodas and mineral water, effectively take it for free before resale.

All this could change if the proposals in a green paper issued for public consultation last year are implemented.

The green paper proposes an unprecedented tariff system based on the volumes abstracted from the water table. But it also distinguishes between three categories of users: namely domestic users, commercial entities and domestic users.

While proposing a tariff for both domestic and commercial users, farmers will be allocated a quota based on factors such as land area, the crops cultivated, farm size, as well as environmental factors. No volumetric tariffs will be applied to water use within this quota. However, groundwater and ‘New Water’ – the polished treated sewage water –in excess of this quota will be charged at a volumetric rate “close to the real cost of groundwater.”

Unlike farmers, commercial operators will not be eligible for a quota of free water but will benefit from a 25% rebate on the annual cost of groundwater abstraction, if they fully implement water management measures identified in an audit.

When asked about the progress made since the conclusion of the public consultation in January, EWA chief executive officer Manuel Sapiano explained that the government is currently in the process of drafting a white paper. Submissions received from key stakeholders have already been evaluated. “These submissions and how they will be addressed will be made available through a document backing the White Paper. The White Paper will, therefore, serve as a consolidation of detailed proposals on the way forward,” Sapiano said.

He also emphasised that the agency’s priority is “to ensure that the new measures are actually workable in the practical environment” and “address the specific challenges and issues indicated by the stakeholders.”

Sapiano also provided MaltaToday with a list of issues raised during the public consultation. These included the impact of the proposed regulation on the cost of bowser water and private water suppliers, permitting bottlenecks for agricultural reservoirs, access to new water by farmers, permits for new boreholes, water use for swimming pools, bird ponds, and irrigation for gardens and landscaping, and the need for increased enforcement.