International Conference of the LIFE – 3rd Countries Project: “Development and implementation of an integrated system for the control and monitoring of the urban wastewater treatment plants in Cyprus” Thursday, 17th February, 2005, Holiday Inn Hotel, Nicosia, Cyprus Meeting the Demand. – Enhancing the Availability of Water Supplies in Malta. J.Mangion, M.Sapiano

Demography Maltese Archipelago - one of the smallest in the Mediterranean km 2 Population (2003) – 388,867 Growth Rate less than 1,000 per year Population density – 1,250 inhabitants/km 2 One inner harbour locality has inh/km 2 When taking into consideration average tourist arrivals per year namely 1,000,000 tourists – aggregated population in 2003 was 427,000

Population Trends Steady growth up till 2025 Gradual decline reaching 360,000 by 2,060 Figures above are meant to provide a perspective of the pressure for water resources

Water Competition Index CountryReference Period Population (1,000) Surface Area of Country’s Mediterranean Basin (km 2 ) Water resources (m 3 /yr.cap) Competition index (inh./hm 3. yr) Malta ,800 Gaza Strip ,054 Israel19945,47210, ,612 Libya19943,246158, ,637 West Bank19951,4072, ,608 Tunisia19948,03390, ,289 Morocco19904,42680, ,165 Cyprus ,2511, Algeria198710,791133,0001, Egypt199546,545200,0001, Syria19944,53022,0001, Lebanon19923,0009,8001, Spain199116,360185,6001, Italy199057,104301,2772, Turkey199517,180195,0003, France199011,937130,1005, FYR of Macedonia19912,10025,7005, Yugoslavia19911,2466,3226, Greece199110,264131,9446, Albania19903,25628,74813,08076 Croatia19911,40337,20518,59854 Slovenia ,83523,92742 Bosnia Herzegovina ,30125,03940

Water Resources

San Antnin Sewage Purification Plant

Comprehensive distribution of water supplies - Malta (estimated 2003)

Observations on the current Water Supply Total production of around 58hm 3 /annum Groundwater still accounts for 56% of total supplies

Breakdown of estimated Water Demand (2003)

Observations on the current Water Demand Agriculture is the main single user (32%) Followed by the domestic sector (28%) And industry/commercial establishments (6%) Estimated global demand 58hm 3 /annum

Agricultural demand current total irrigation demand of 16.2hm 3 /annum current demand on groundwater is around 13.2hm 3/ annum new cultivations resulting from EU pre- accession negotiations will increase demand to 21hm 3 /annum

Projections for Groundwater Production Current abstraction from groundwater is 32.5hm 3 Projected cutback: 5hm 3 from the MSLA to balance recharge. 2.5hm 3 equivalent to 10% from the MSLA to curb saline intrusion. and 2hm 3 from the perched aquifers to sustain groundwater dependent ecosystems, (WFD) Long term potential of GW =23hm 3 /annum

Supply Projections and Consequences 50% of the recoverable groundwater for drinking purposes (11.5hm 3 /annum) Remaining 50% for agriculture (11.5hm 3 /annum) Resulting in a shortfall of 9.5hm 3 /annum for future agriculture

The Future Alternative Wastewater Treatment Plant Projected output (hm 3 /annum) Malta South11.7 Malta North1.0 Gozo1.2

Land-use correlated with the location of the proposed WWTP's.

The Options dispose effluent into the sea. lead the treated effluent to inland industrial area where there is potential for re-use by industry. lead the treated effluent to inland irrigated areas where respecting environmental and health constraints. lead the treated effluent to existing disused reservoirs where distribution centres may be set up to provide water transporters with a controlled supply of water for agriculture and industry.

Constraints on re-use options Quality -62.5% of irrigated land lies over the MSLA in fractured limestone -Hence TSE to be sufficiently treated to remove excessive salinity and pathogens (viruses etc ) Economic -Product adequately priced to enable viable operation of the plant. -market acceptance – tariffs to provide incentive to re-use this source instead of GW.

Rainwater harvesting Increased storage at local and municipal level. Enforcement of building regulations. Maintenance of dams in valley beds. Conversion of agricultural reservoirs to store surface run-off

Re-use effect on Irrigation Demand Demand on GW to drop to around 10.8hm 3 from its present 13.2hm 3. Assuming that all the TSE produced, and the harvested rainwater (estimated on current storage facilities) can be effectively utilised for irrigation

Seasonal Dependency on GW

Conclusions Allocating 50% of groundwater resources to agriculture will not suffice to meet future irrigation demand, on account of the increasing sprawl of irrigated land, Conjunctive use of groundwater with adequately treated and diligently applied TSE, and surface run-off offers a potential alternative that will mitigate the shortfall for irrigation. TSE must be delivered to the areas of use, implying additional investment on new distribution networks. Rain water harvesting and its reuse needs to be enhanced at local and municipal level Cost recovery is an essential requisite to ensure the economic sustainability of the use of these non-conventional resources.

THANK YOU