I’ve just been reading about the new Gasco depot for Liquefied Petroleum Gas, which is to be sited in a disused quarry in ix-Xoqqiet, Birzebbuga. At first this appears to be an excellent use for a disused quarry until you read further into the consequences of this development. At present 140,000 cubic metres of rainwater enter this quarry on an annual basis and drain into the ground to replenish the islands underground water supply. Once the depot has been relocated to the quarry it is proposed that this 140,000 cubic metres of rainwater will be dumped directly into the sea.

Given the fact that there is not enough water at present in the underground reservoirs, to say that this is a stupid waste is an understatement. At present Malta can only source about 40% of it’s water supplies from these underground supplies with the rest having to be created through reverse osmosis. It has already been reported by the Hadley Centre for Climate Change, part of the UK’s Meteorological Office, that rainfall in the central Mediterranean could be down by as much as 30 per cent by 2080.

On top of that we have the situation where old houses, which had to by law have a well, are being knocked down and replaced by apartment blocks, which are feeding directly from the water mains. Doesn’t it therefore make sense that Malta should be doing everything it can to save water rather than finding new ways of dumping it?

Whilst it’s logical that this depot should be relocated from its present site in il-Qajjenza, just next to a residential area to somewhere safer, it does not make sense that this should happen at the expense of a much needed water supply. Granted there are many reasons why the building of an on-site reservoir is out of the question for safety reasons, but surely another solution could be found.

At present it is proposed that a storm drain is constructed to carry the water away from the site. This water will have to pass through a water treatment plant in order to remove any contamination before discharge into the sea. Shouldn’t Gasco as part of the development process be made to ensure that the treated water is conveyed to another area for storage?

What exactly is the point of Environment Impact Studies throwing up this type of problem if MEPA is simply going to shrug its shoulder and accept the developers tales of woe about not being able to do anything. It is high time MEPA realised that the ‘E’ in MEPA stands for Environment.

James A. Tyrrell

N. Ireland