MEPA, MRA launch Water Catchment Management plan

The plan covers water catchment for coastal waters, ground water and inland surface waters.

Describing it as a milestone in the management of Malta’s water resources, MEPA Chairman Austin Walker said the WCMP is the most significant plan achieved by Malta in the implementation of the European Union’s Water Framework Directive (WFD).

“The management measures contained in the plan were identified following a detailed economic analysis to determine the suitability of certain management actions that provide the most cost-effective scenario for Malta,” Walker said.

Speaking during the launch, Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco, said that for the plan's measures and actions to come to fruition, the plan needs to be "owned" by all government agencies along with various practitioners such as farmers, industrialists, hoteliers and households.

“Without the involvement of all stakeholders, the plan will not be successful,” De Marco said. “The private sector will responsible for the implementation of the greatest part of the plan.”

To ensure the proper implementation of the management measures, an Inter-ministerial committee has been set up to oversee their actual implementation on ground.

The EU’s WFD  sets the minimum environmental standards for all waters and which need to be achieved through three six-year cycles. The EU’s current cycle sets good status to be reached by 2015.

MRA spokesman Manuel Sapiano however said that since the average age of Maltese groundwater bodies have a slow response system, the results of what we are implementing today will be noticed in 40 years.

With regards to surface waters, MEPA said the overall objective is to achieve good status where waters are of sufficient quality and quantity to support human activities, as well as the ecosystems that depend on them.

Sapiano said in Malta there 15 separate groundwater bodies, 13 of which are described as in "poor status".

“High level of nitrate was found in the groundwater bodies. More results also confirmed high levels of salinity,” Sapiano said, adding that no pollution by pesticide and/or heavy metals was found.

MEPA said that in cases where areas of the water environment are protected through other specific EU and national legislation, these should respect the higher standards that are required of them as pertains the specific legislation that governs them.

Through a €4.9 million, MEPA said it is making a substantial investment to develop comprehensive monitoring programmes, including Malta’s coastal and inland surface waters.