Water, water everywhere; but not a drop to drink. The line is taken from the The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Published in 1798, the poem tells the story of a mariner who has returned from a voyage during which he encountered thirst and deprivation. It also tells of ghosts and spirits, but it is the line we quoted above, which is of most interest to us. Malta is an island. We are surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea and have little sources of fresh water. In fact, according to recent statistics, 55.8% of public water supply originates from reverse osmosis plants, with the remainder extracted from groundwater.

One of the major issues which the government is trying to address is the use of groundwater for irrigation purposes. The amount of water needed to irrigate crops depends on the amount of rainfall in Malta, and with many scientists predicting more and more severe droughts, then this is one area which must be addressed without delay.

Between 2008 and 2011, an average of 13.1 million cubic metres per year was extracted from groundwater, which constitutes Malta’s only freshwater resource.

But plans are afoot to create a new source of irrigation water: The Water Services Corporation has submitted plans to undertake a €13 million project by means of which about eight million cubic metres of treated sewage (25% of the total amount of treated sewage) would be used as secondary water by industry and in the agriculture sector.

Water, and its availability in the future, is going to be a problem. A recent US intelligence agency report has predicted that drought, floods and a lack of fresh water may cause significant global instability and conflict in the coming decades.

The report is based on a classified National Intelligence Estimate on water security, which was requested by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and completed last fall. It says floods, scarce and poor quality water, combined with poverty, social tension, poor leadership and weak governments will contribute to instability that could lead the failure of numerous states.

Malta may not have these problems, but we definitely do face a problem in terms of being able to produce enough water to meet demand, coupled with depletion of groundwater levels. To produce water, through reverse osmosis technology, one needs huge amounts of electricity, so the issue is two-pronged. As oil continues to increase in price, then so will the cost of producing good quality water. We must also recognise that while Malta was once a world leader in this technology, we have fallen behind and other countries, such as Israel, have developed the process further, allowing them to produce water at a much cheaper cost, per unit, than we can afford to do.

The government has embarked on various campaigns to educate the public about the issue of conserving water. At the same time, it has also embarked on projects to reclaim waste water. But much more has to be done. The first thing that needs to change is people’s mentality – a classic example is seeing how much water is wasted when someone leaves a tap on while brushing their teeth. At the same time, Malta must invest in rainwater catchment stores. We are sure that with the right planning, we could save a lot of the water that normally ends up in the sea.

We do not have an inexhaustible supply of water. The world is becoming a drier and more arid place and we, of all people, should know better. We must conserve water and use it sparingly, as there will come a time when it might actually be rationed.