GozoNews.Com

BBC World Service environment reporter Matt McGrath has recently visited the Maltese Islands to report on how the rising waters caused by global warming are already making life more difficult over here.

Mr McGrath said that with 400,000 people living here, Malta is one of the most crowded spaces in the world and is also highly vulnerable to climate change.

Mr McGrath added that rising sea levels in the Mediterranean caused by global warming are threatening to eventually submerge parts of the island.

But there is another aspect to sea level rise that is already having a significant effect, it is the impact on our supply of drinking water.

In the tourist season Malta’s population trebles. All these extra people put great pressure on an ancient water supply, which has for centuries depended on a vast reservoir which lies under the island. Because the fresh water is less dense than salt water, this reserve effectively floats on the sea.

Mr Mcgrath went on to describe how, down the centuries, the Maltese have developed a clever system of underground tunnels, called galleries, to extract the water for human consumption.

Salt rise

About 97m (320ft) beneath the surface of the island lie the Ta’ Kandja galleries. Reached by a lift, the tunnels stretch out for several kilometres like the spokes of a wheel, all half filled with water that is pumped up to the surface and then to homes and farms around the island.

The water in the tunnels is fresh. But just 10 metres below it is salty. And thanks to climate change the salty water is now rising.

Malta water services engineer Paul Micallef was quoted as saying that the rising sea will make the galleries very difficult to operate in the future. “According to recent studies the water will rise about 96cm by the year 2100,” he told the BBC.

“This will affect the availability of groundwater as the interface between sea water and fresh water will actually rise by about 1m and the high salinity levels will be close to our extraction sources.”

The article went on to describe the effects of the increasing salinity which are already being felt in some parts of the island. In the beautiful Im’selliet valley; David and Mary Mallia run an organic farm that produces grapes, citrus fruits and vegetables. Like many people in Malta, the Mallias use a bore hole to extract water for their crops. David Mallia said that he’s already noticed changes in the water in recent months.

Controlling emissions

“Since the rainfall has become less, the salinity is becoming higher and higher. Normally in winter it would be about 2,000 microsiemens, which is a measure of salinity. “This year, with the lack of rain, it went up to 4,000. It’s not good for irrigation. If you water your trees with this water it will kill them”

The article went on to say that because the rising sea is poisoning their ground water with salt, the authorities in Malta are investing in desalination to make the sea water drinkable. More than half the potable water on the island is now produced in this way.

But desalination plants contribute significantly to global warming as they are powered by fossil fuels. As a member of the European Union, Malta is already facing sanctions for failing to co-operate on carbon cutbacks with Brussels.

Cutting these emissions will not be easy, according to Dr Christopher Chaintor who is responsible for environmental policy within the Maltese ministry of rural affairs and the environment.

He is quoted as saying that the people of Malta will want to see climate change impacts first before they are willing to spend money changing their lifestyles.

New predictions for the Mediterranean area suggest that heat waves and droughts will become much more common - and the seas will continue to rise.

To deal with these problems, the EU says that serious emission cuts must be made across Europe. These cutbacks could hamper Malta’s tourist industry - and that is an option few local politicians would like to embrace.