593 farmers making use of new water

593 farmers are taking advantage of the free supply of treated and polished sewage known as ‘new water’ to irrigate their crops

593 farmers are taking advantage of the free supply of treated and polished sewage known as ‘new water’ to irrigate their crops, with most of them hailing from Gozo, Mellieha and Mgarr.

Malta currently has around 19,000 farmers, of which only around 7% are full timers. This means that only 3% of all registered farmers are using new water, but the percentage rises to 10% in Gozo.

Consumption by farmers from localities cut off from the distribution network remains low. This is because these farmers have to rely on private bowsers to transport this water from the distribution points, at an extra cost.

The Water Services Corporation is currently investing in a pipeline infrastructure to facilitate access to new water.

New water is an alternative to ground water extraction by boreholes, which contributes to the increased salinity of ground water. Seven million cubic metres of treated sewage water are being produced annually, which can be potentially re-used in agriculture.

The vast majority of the farmers using new water hail from Mellieha (168) and Mgarr (111) which together account for 47% of farmers making use of the free water. These localities are closest to the distribution points.

204 farmers hail from Gozo, which accounts for more than a third of consumption. Moreover, this suggests that 10% of all Gozo-registered farmers are making use of new water.

Farmers who use new water need to provide proof of cultivated land. Based on the size of the agricultural land they are given a card, which gives them access to a quota of free water, to extract from a nearby pump.