An application to construct a concrete brick factory that is about to be approved on a site within the Groundwater Protection Zone without an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) is being regarded by Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar (FAA) as a threat to the national water resource as it constitutes a risk of groundwater contamination. “This exemption from an EIA will result in a concrete batching plant being constructed exactly on top of our unlined drinking water galleries at Ta’ Kandja which are used to provide potable water in our taps.” said an FAA spokesman.

The risk is acknowledged by MEPA in an exemption to EIA regulations approved by the Director of Environment Protection where unsubstantiated measures to reduce the risk are being used to fast track the permit.

The Ta’ Kandja Underground Galleries consist of over six kilometers of underground channels 100m below ground level which were built forty five years ago to supply pure drinking water to the nation. Although this application overlies the Siggiewi Galleries downstream of the Ta’ Kandja Pumping station, it has been cleared of the need of an EIA which would normally apply, one of many exemptions facilitated by the amendments to the EIA law last year.

It should be noted that the Ta’ Kandja pumping station is not equipped with a real-time monitor for hydrcarbons, so any leaching from the site into the potable water supply will go undetected. FAA maintains that where the national drinking water supplies are concerned, nothing short of proof beyond all doubt of the effectiveness of mitigation measures can be accepted. It maintains that there are no fail-safe guaran-tees that cracks or fissures do not develop in the waterproofing membrane that has been recommended as a precautionary measure “There is no way anybody can guarantee that over the years, contamination from the batching plant activities will not seep into the few metres of rock between the bottom of the quarry and the galleries just underneath. Should the ‘waterproofing membrane ‘fail’, contaminated potable water may end up being distributed in our taps without anybody knowing.”

Given the usage and extent of operations at the quarry involving potential hydrocarbon-diesel contaminants, FAA asks what type of monitoring MEPA had in mind to protect the population from a potential health hazard.

The implications for public health issues arising from a possible contamination of water at the Ta’ Kandja pumping station cannot be quantified, not to mention the potential financial loss that may run into millions of euros, in which case one asks whether any financial guarantees are in place to make good for such a loss?

FAA maintains that it is highly irresponsible of the Malta Resources Authority to rubber-stamp this threat to the public water supply which would make it possible for undetected oil leaks to end up our drinking water. What hydrological and hydro-geological investigations have been carried out to ensure that this will never happen? Has a risk assessment been carried out?

It is unacceptable that MEPA should exempt this development application from an EIA, when it is evident that the proposed development is a direct threat to public health. The Ta’ Kandja pumping station is the most important groundwater production source for the public potable water supply.

FAA calls on the Public Health Department to insist on a full environmental planning statement that will rule out any health risks to the population while preserving the pristine state of our water supply.