AD insist on need to protect ground water

The Green Party today insisted that ground water should be protected and industries should be prohibited from extracting water at all costs.

During a press conference today on the use of public natural resources, Alternattiva Demokratika’s chairperson Arnold Cassola, said "Water is scarce and extremely precious in Malta. Malta is the tenth driest country in the world when it comes to water resources pro-capita. The driest 9 countries in the world are all countries that include a desert within their confines. Indeed, Malta is the driest country in the world which does not incorporate desert land.”

He added that as things stand at present, Malta is extracting about double the amount of water from the water table than that replenished through rainfall. If we continue at this rate our country risks becoming totally dry within the next two decades or so."

AD Deputy Chairperson Carmel Cacopardo stressed that it is “essential that ground water is protected.”

It has been ignored for ages both due to over-extraction of water as well as a result of its being contaminated through pesticides, artificial fertilisers and farm sewage.

"This press conference is being addressed next to a factory which is known to utilise ground water for 40% of its requirements. This is not acceptable and has to cease forthwith,” Cacopardo said.

Moreover he pointed out that unless decisions are taken immediately, the country will find itself in a situation where there would be nothing left to protect.

Among the urgent decisions required, Cacopardo said, are the need to better regulate the extraction of ground water including banning industry from making direct use of this resource neither against payment and much less without.