EU Life+ - National Water Conference 2012 Report

National Water Conference Report

August 2012

Contents 1.

Introduction ............................................................................................................. 2

2.

Key outputs.............................................................................................................. 3 Water Scarcity ..................................................................................................................................... 3 National and EU legislation and policy ................................................................................................ 3 Saving water ....................................................................................................................................... 4

3.

Agenda ..................................................................................................................... 5

4.

Speeches ................................................................................................................. 6 1.

Mr George Vella, President, Malta Business Bureau .................................................................. 6

2.

Dr Marie Louise Mangion, Director of Sustainability Unit, Ministry for Tourism, Culture and the Environment ............................................................................................................................... 6

3.

Mr Geoffrey Saliba, EU LIFE+ Investing in Water Project Manager, Malta Business Bureau .... 7

4.

Mr. Manuel Sapiano, Malta Resources Authority Hydrologist ..................................................... 8

5.

Ing. Marco Cremona, Water Expert to the EU LIFE+ Investing in Water Project ........................ 9

6.

Mr Manuel Sapiano, Malta Resources Authority Senior Analyst (Hydrology) ........................... 10

7.

Mr Peter Gammeltoft, Head of Water Protection Unit, DG ENV ............................................... 11

8.

Mr Tancred Tabone, President, Malta Chamber ....................................................................... 12

9.

Mr Victor Buhagiar, Manager Administration APS Bank ........................................................... 13

10. Ing. Joseph Restall, Chief Engineer, Hilton Malta ..................................................................... 13 11. Dr. Fabio Masi, Iridra Technical Director - Scientific Manager, LIFE WATACLIC Project ........ 14 12. Mrs Konstantina Toli, Programme Office, Alter Aqua GWP-Med Project ................................. 15 13. Mr Tony Zahra, MHRA President .............................................................................................. 15 14. Ing. Anthony Rizzo, CEO Malta Resources Authority ............................................................... 16

5.

1

Speaker contact details......................................................................................... 17

1. Introduction The Malta Business Bureau’s EU LIFE+ Investing in Water Project organised the National Water Conference on the 22nd June 2012. The conference brought together a range of speakers from public and private entities to discuss water saving. The following entities addressed attendees:        

Directorate-General Environment, European Commission (DG ENV) Ministry for Tourism, Culture and the Environment (MTCE) Malta Resources Authority (MRA) Malta Business Bureau (MBB) Hilton Malta APS Bank LIFE WATACLIC Project Alter Aqua, GWP-Med Project

Over the course of the day attendees were presented with an overview of the key water scarcity issues in Malta including; the state of Malta’s groundwater, the expected impacts of climate change on freshwater provision, and the need and impacts of sourcing freshwater through reverse osmosis. Various water saving initiatives were presented, opened by the project presenting its findings based on a set of water audits carried out earlier in 2012.

Maltese and EU legislation and policy were also presented, and the conference concluded with a discussion between the floor and a panel.

Around 150 attendees from target audience enterprises and other stakeholders attended.

Presentations and an audio recording of the conference have been uploaded to the project website to serve as references to interested parties.

Project website – www.investinginwater.org

2

2. Key outputs Water Scarcity Malta is one of the world’s top ten water scarce countries. Almost all of Malta’s natural freshwater reserves are stored as groundwater in aquifers. Demand is however, higher than natural supply, which has led to historic over-extraction. Coupled with pollution from nitrate sources this has led to a serious deterioration of groundwater bodies. 90% of groundwater bodies do not meet the ‘Good Status’ criteria – defined as producing water which meet EU drinking water standards.

To compensate for higher water demand than can be met through naturally occurring freshwater reverse osmosis has been relied upon. Reverse osmosis currently provides around 55% of Malta’s tap water. The process however, comes at an environmental and economic cost as it requires a lot of energy, and currently consumes 4% of Malta’s electricity.

The expected impact of climate change could result in a worsening of water scarcity in Malta. Climate change models predict that annual rainfall could decrease by as much as 15% in the Mediterranean. This would lead to decreased recharge of Malta’s aquifers resulting in a lower sustainable yield. Since groundwater remains one of the main sources of water in the Maltese islands this would have a serious impact on the management and provision of freshwater locally.

National and EU legislation and policy EU policy acknowledges the problems posed by water scarcity and seeks to establish an infrastructure for the efficient and sustainable management of water resources. Of particular note for Malta are three obligations: 1) Groundwater bodies need to be restored to ‘Good Status’ by 20151, 2) An environmental and resource cost was to be attached to supplied water by 2010, 3) A sewerage tariff also needs to be charged to customers.

The latter two points have yet to be implemented in Malta while it is unlikely that restoring Malta’s groundwater bodies to ‘Good Status’ by 2015 is technically feasible.

The national approach to water scarcity is to focus on both supply and demand management. The supply of alternative sources of water is being invested in, with additional infrastructure planned to treat and polish sewage effluent for distribution as 2nd class water.

National efforts to increase the efficiency with which water is consumed are also being encouraged, executed, and planned. By decreasing demand and augmenting supply with treated sewage effluent as well as rainwater, it is believed that over-extraction of groundwater can be eliminated.

1

‘Good Status’ refers to a set of qualitative and quantitative criteria, as laid out in the Water Framework Directive; Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000

3

Saving water The project carried out water audits with a sample set of businesses and hotels earlier in 2012. These audits show that a strong element of over-design exists in service water facilities, resulting in significant water wastage. To guide enterprises in reducing wastage due to over-design, the project identified the following best practice flow rates: Showers

- 7 litres per minute

Wash-hand basins

- 5 litres per minute

Toilet flushing volumes

- 6 litres

There is significant potential for water savings across the board as 85% of businesses and 75% of hotels exceed these best practice water flows.

The potential for water savings through the sourcing by enterprises of sustainable 2nd class water also exits. Identified sources include in-house recycling of grey and black water, and the harvesting of rainwater. A best practice case study from Hilton Malta showed that black water treatment produces water which is cheaper than mains tap water, bowser supplied groundwater and in-house reverse osmosis fresh water. Another best practice example from APS Bank shows that rainwater can supply 36% of a head office’s water demand including toilet flushing, floor washing, fire drills, and irrigation.

The opportunity for large scale savings by individual businesses and hotels, through eliminating wasteful consumption and sourcing sustainable sources of water, is clearly significant.

4

3. Agenda Date: Venue: Time:

22nd June 2012 The Grand Ballroom, Radisson Hotel, St Julians 09:00 – 14:40

09:00 – 09:30

Introducing the project and the conference

Mr George Vella, MBB President opened the conference, following by Dr Marie Louise Mangion, Head Tourism and Sustainable Development Unit, Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Environment, who delivered the opening speech. Mr Geoffrey Saliba, EU LIFE+ Investing in Water Project Manager closed this session by providing an update on the project to date and project actions over the coming months. The session was chaired by MBB Chief Executive Officer Joe Tanti.

09:30 – 10:15

Water Scarcity and Consumption in Malta

The severity of water scarcity in Malta was detailed by Mr Manuel Sapiano, Malta Resources Authority Hydrologist while Ing Marco Cremona, Water Expert to the EU LIFE+ Investing in Water Project, presented an analysis of water consumption by various industries locally. The session was chaired by Mr Andrew Aguis Muscat, MHRA Chief Executive Officer.

10:45 – 11:30

Tackling water scarcity – National and EU Policy

Mr Manuel Sapiano Malta Resources Authority Hydrologist discussed national water policy and legislation while Mr Peter Gammeltoft, Head of Water Protection Unit, DG ENV, presented EU legislation and policy. Mr Tancred Tabone, Malta Chamber President, opened the questions and answers with a key intervention. The session was chaired by Mr Martin Bugelli, Head of European Commission Representation in Malta.

11:30 – 12:45

Case Studies – best practice in water management

Ing Joseph Restall presented water savings best practice in the Hilton Hotel, followed by Mr Victor Buhagiar presenting the APS Bank’s best practice. Dr Fabio Masi PHD discussed conclusions from the Italian LIFE WATACLIC Project and Mrs Konstantina Toli presented conclusions from the GWP-Med, Alter Aqua Programme. The session concluded with questions and answers, opened through a key intervention by Mr Tony Zahra, MHRA President, and was chaired by Perit Philip Grech, member of the Malta Water Association.

13:45 – 14:40

Discussion – Realising Water Savings in Industry

Attendees and speakers participated in a debate discussing the potential and challenges industry faces in adopting water conservation measures, chaired by Dr Andrew Azzopardi from the University of Malta. Ing. Anthony Rizzo, MRA CEO Ing. Anthony Rizzo closed the debate.

Presentations and speeches closed at 14:40, leaving attendees free to visit on-site stands with information by providers of water saving products and services on the local market.

5

4. Speeches Session 1 Introducing the project and the conference

1. Mr George Vella, President, Malta Business Bureau George Vella explained that the MBB was set up 15 years ago by the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, with the objective of representing businesses in the EU. The three main objectives of the MBB are:   

Keeping its members informed of EU affairs that affect local business interests, Voicing concerns on EU affairs which could be of detriment to local business interests, Promoting EU Affairs of benefit to local businesses.

He highlighted that through the project the MBB is promoting the LIFE programmes in the hope that by leading the way more enterprises will take advantage of such programmes. He also highlighted that water is a scarce resource and managing it is important for enterprises to be both financially and environmentally sustainable.

Mr Vella concluded by stating that through the project the MBB is not only raising awareness about the gravity of the water scarcity problem, but also empowering enterprises to improve their sustainability by adopting water saving solutions.

We would not only like to raise awareness, but also empower enterprises to improve their sustainability.

2. Dr Marie Louise Mangion, Director of Sustainability Unit, Ministry for Tourism, Culture and the Environment Dr Mangion outlined the key factors By saving water enterprises are both reducing affecting water scarcity in Malta; a limited costs as well as complimenting national water natural supply of groundwater, the energy management efforts. intensive and expensive nature of seawater desalination, Malta’s large number of incoming tourists adding to the country’s water demand, and the expected decrease in annual rainfall due to climate change.

She then highlighted the importance of looking into a more efficient consumption of water and the importance of good governance. Dr Mangion stressed the importance of Malta’s National Water Policy which includes a number of water management measures.

The EU’s Water Framework Directive is being implemented in Malta through the Water Catchment Management Plan. This plan was developed by the Malta Resources Authority 6

together with the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, with an inter-ministerial committee monitoring the progress of implementation. Dr Mangion stated that the plan is so far moving to schedule.

While government and local authorities are working to tackle water scarcity, the private sector also had a role to play. Dr Mangion highlighted the financial benefits to conserving water, as reflected in lower running costs for commercial enterprises, and recognised the effort made by enterprises in collaborating with the project.

Dr Mangion concluded by encouraging more enterprises to join the project, and by affirming the Ministry’s support for the project as the main co-financier.

3. Mr Geoffrey Saliba, EU LIFE+ Investing in Water Project Manager, Malta Business Bureau Geoffrey Saliba explained that Malta is one of The EU LIFE+ Investing in Water Project the World’s top ten water scarce countries. aims to help businesses and hotels save Due to the limited available freshwater water. reserves, demand is higher than what nature can supply.

To cope with the imbalance Malta has resorted to withdrawing more groundwater than is naturally sustainable. Coupled with pollution from nitrate sources, this over-extraction of groundwater reserves has led to a deterioration in quality and quantity of groundwater bodies.

Over-extraction of groundwater is still not enough to compensate for lack of natural water supplies. Reverse Osmosis desalination plants have therefore been relied upon to generate freshwater from seawater. These plants however, consume at least 4% of Malta’s electricity, making reverse osmosis an energy intensive and expensive method of generating freshwater.

Given the deterioration of natural freshwater bodies and the energy intensive methods employed to compensate for a demand which is higher than Malta’s natural capacity, efficient and sustainable management of water reserves is very important for Malta.

The EU LIFE+ Investing in Water Project aims to help businesses and hotels reduce their water consumption by 10%. It is doing this by identifying water savings solutions and sharing best practices with enterprises.

Mr Saliba went on to describe the progress of the project so far, where a first set of Water Audits with a sample group of 39 businesses and hotels have already been carried out.

Through the audits water saving solutions has been identified. The project will carry out a second set of water audits with a larger group of enterprises starting in the third quarter of 2012. To further help enterprises save water a solutions pack will also be published, detailing water saving solutions and offering guidance on how to carry out self-assessments.

This solutions pack will also share best practice. The project will offer training to technical and general staff through workshops, and distribute water saving signs to enterprises.

Mr Saliba closed his speech by inviting interested enterprises and hotels to make contact with the project.

7

Session 2 Water Scarcity and Consumption in Malta

4. Mr. Manuel Sapiano, Malta Resources Authority Senior Analyst (Hydrology) Manuel Sapiano highlighted that groundwater abstraction is currently estimated at 33 million m3, while the amount of groundwater sustainably available for extraction is estimated at 23 million m3.

Malta is extracting 48% more groundwater than is sustainably available.

Mr Sapiano then discussed two scenarios through which Malta could resolve the water scarcity issue.

The first involves the management of water available locally. This would capitalise on existing and planned management of natural resources and alternative water supplies. The measures and quantities of freshwater available include: 1) Utilisation of surface runoff, which is currently constrained by reservoir carrying-over capacity (2-3Mm3), 2) Malta’s 15 unconfined aquifers have a potential safe yield of 23-25Mm3/year, 3) The reverse osmosis desalination facilities have a capacity of 26-30Mm3/year, 4) Plans are in the pipeline to treated 17Mm3 per year of sewage effluent.

This scenario would result in the islands sustainably producing around 50Mm3/year. Demand is currently higher than 50Mm3/year, however through the second scenario a water demand management policy would reduce demand to what can be produced and sustainably abstracted - just below 50Mm3/year.

Mr Sapiano emphasized that the way forward is to implement both scenarios, with the support of all stakeholders.

He concluded his presentation by highlighting that Malta has an average water footprint of 2216 m³/year per capita, which is significantly higher than the global average of 1385 m³/year per capita. 91.7 % of Malta’s footprint falls outside the country, making it a net importer of water.

8

5. Ing. Marco Cremona, Water Expert to the EU LIFE+ Investing in Water Project Ing. Cremona explained that the project has so far audited 20 businesses and 19 hotels.

Businesses came from the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, services and importation, beverage sectors and also included offices.

Hotels ranged from simple three star hotels to luxurious five star resorts. Through the audits various water saving solutions were identified, including interventions on showers, washhand basin taps, and toilets as well as rainwater harvesting and waste-water treatment.

85% of businesses and 75% of hotels exceed best practice water flows, leading to significant water wastage.

The project is gathering the most in-depth water consumption data available for businesses and hotels to date in Malta. This has allowed it to identify water consumption benchmarks for businesses and hotels (see PPT for further details). The information also showed that businesses use 4 sources of water; tap water, rainwater, bowser supplied groundwater, and borehole extracted groundwater. Hotels use up to eight sources; tap water, rainwater, bowser supplied groundwater, borehole extracted groundwater, seawater, reverse-osmosis water and treated black and grey waste-water.

The project found a strong element of over-design present in many facilities, leading to wasteful consumption. It is therefore recommending best practice standard water flows to guide enterprises in decreasing their consumption; Showers

- 7 litres per minute

Wash-hand basins taps

- 5 litres per minute

Toilets

- 6 litres per flush

The project identified that 85% of businesses and 75% of hotels exceed these standards, highlighting the potential for significant water savings by enterprises across the board.

9

Session 3 Tackling water scarcity – National and EU Policy

6. Mr Manuel Sapiano, Malta Resources Authority Senior Analyst (Hydrology) The need for a national water policy has been felt as initiatives taken previously have not been effective in combating water scarcity. The relatively new national water policy does not specifically look into sectorial approaches of ground water, desalinated water and treated water, but rather offers a holistic approach.

A key objective of Malta’s water policy is the sustainable use and management of national water sources. Sustainability requires the efficient use of water.

The first key objective of the national water policy is the supply of good quality water to meet the needs of the population. Tap water is currently of suitable quality however, this quality is in danger of decreasing once the aquifers exceed their sustainable yield threshold. Another key objective is the sustainable use and management of national water sources.

Sustainability requires the efficient use of water sources. One of the most important key objectives is the fair and transparent regulation of the water industry. The introduction of licenses of water distributors has reduced illegal groundwater extraction; however this still remains a serious problem. Flooding also remains a problem due to many valleys being built up, with this development being a large contributor to the causing of run-off water.

Other key objectives include the protection of water resources and the aquatic environment from pollution, as well as adaptation to climate change which will have a serious effect on Malta’s water sources. Tackling both these key objectives is still in the planning stage however, work has initiated with regards to climate change adaptation, nitrates action and Water Services Corporation management. Monitoring programmes and public awareness campaigns are already being undertaken.

10

7. Mr Peter Gammeltoft, Head of Water Protection Unit, DG ENV Member states have an obligation to establish cost recovery for “water services”, including environmental and resources costs, which should have been done by 1st January 2010. Member states also need to ensure that water bodies are restored to ‘Good Status’ by 2015, with no further deterioration.

Mr Gammeltoft highlighting the principles of EU water policy, which include the achievement of good status in all water bodies with no further deterioration. The objectives are to be achieved through the formation of economic instruments and water pricing, amongst other instruments.

With regards to water pricing Mr Gammeltoft stated that member states have an obligation to establish cost recovery for water services. These costs should include environmental and resources costs, and ensure that different water users adequately contribute to cost recovery. The costs should take into consideration social, environmental and economic effects, and climatic and geographic conditions, and may be disaggregated to households, industry and agriculture. The obligation was to implement these costs by 1st January 2010, and the policy should aim to be an incentive to use water efficiently, while contributing to the objectives of the Water Framework Directive.

Mr Gammeltoft went on to highlight that under the Water Framework Directive, the objective for 2015 is to have water bodies in ‘Good Status’. This involves water bodies meeting chemical, biological, and quantitative standards with deterioration halted.

Of the EU’s member states only 4 have failed to adopt River Basin Management Plans as required under the Water Framework Directive, all of which have been taken to the European Court of Justice with 2 court rulings having been concluded.

Of the other states positive preliminary findings include a high uptake of the common framework and common language on water management provided by the directive, an integration of ecological perspective into water management, public participation and stakeholder involvement, and an impressive improvement in the knowledge base.

Negative preliminary findings include the low ambition in many of the plans (extensive use of derogations/exemptions), the lack of concrete measures and expected achievements, and insufficient Water Pricing, with dressing of the implemented directive as “business-as-usual”.

11

8. Mr Tancred Tabone, President, Malta Chamber One of the best forms of conservation is tariffs There is significant potential in Malta’s – anything free and easily available is not industrial estates and factory areas for appreciated and inevitably leads to waste. In deciding on costs however, the effect of high rainwater harvesting however, adequate tariffs on business needs to be considered. infrastructure is not in place.

Another two forms of water conservation easily practiced in Malta are recycling and rainwater collection.

Recycling allows use of the same resource twice, after having undergone the necessary treatment. Malta has previously only treated waste water as a pollution control measure prior to dumping treated effluent at sea; however it is positive to note announced intentions of treating sewage effluent to a standard that would allow its re-use by agriculture and industry.

Rainwater collection is another component in the efficient use of water which enhances supply capabilities. Dams and household reservoirs have been constructed since the 1600’s however, we have lost this best practice over the ages and instead have increased extraction of groundwater, leading to incursion of seawater into our aquifers. This has led to salinifcation of agricultural surfaces, where extracted groundwater in some locations is even being desalinated by individual farmers prior to irrigation.

There is significant potential in Malta’s industrial estates and factory areas for rainwater harvesting however, adequate infrastructure is not in place. Since the premises are often not occupant owned the decision to invest in such infrastructure does not always fall solely with the enterprise.

The benefits of re-using treated sewage effluent and harvesting rainwater would contribute to dealing with water scarcity, while also lowering the costs for enterprises.

12

Session 4 Case Studies – best practice in water management

9. Mr Victor Buhagiar, Manager Administration APS Bank Victor Buhagiar highlighted the APS Bank’s commitment to sustainable development and discussed the bank’s careful management of water resources at its head office. The aim of the water management programme was to put the bank’s sustainability policy into practice, scarce national resources.

Harvested rainwater satisfies 36% of the total water consumption at the APS Bank’s Head Office. reduce operational costs and help conserve

The bank makes use of several sources of water which include tap water, rainwater, bowser supplied groundwater, and reject water from domestic reverse-osmosis units in the premises kitchenettes. Rainwater provides 36% of water used by the premises, while tap water and bowser supplied groundwater provide around 25% each of the remainder. Reverse-osmosis reject water forms the remaining 14%.

While tap water is used for all potable applications, rainwater, bowser supplied groundwater and reverse-osmosis reject are used for 2nd class water applications, such as fire-fighting and flushing toilets.

Mr Buhagiar detailed measures taken to ensure minimal water wastage at specific faciltiies.

All toilet facilities are operated by sensor controlled units, thus delivering a fixed amount of water per use. The benefits of such systems are the control over consumption and usage, although this comes at a higher price than conventional manual units. Sealed and covered planters are used to limit water loss due to evaporation and ground absorption.

10. Ing. Joseph Restall, Chief Engineer, Hilton Malta The Hilton’s sewage treatment plant produces 2nd class water at €0.90 – cheaper than tap water, bowser supplied groundwater, and in-house reverse osmosis desalinated water.

Ing. Restall explained the Hilton’s approach to water management, which involves both cutting down on waste from various facilities as well as using sustainable sources of 2nd class water.

Water saving restrictors were fitted to showers and wash-hand basins to maintain a flow of 6-7 litres per minute, while public urinals were fitted with automatic sensors. The restrictors alone resulted in an estimated 35-40% reduction in water consumption.

In addition to these measures the hotel harvests rainwater, and in 2011 collected around 8000m3. An interesting approach to water management is the use of an environmentally friendly Copper based disinfectant in pools, in place of Chlorine. This allows pool backwash water to be re-used for second class applications and at peak saves 32 m3 /day.

13

The Hilton also operates its own sewage treatment plant, treating hotel effluent and generating up to 120 m3 /day of second class water. The water is produced at a cost of only €0.9/m3 as opposed €2.5/m3 for tap water or €1.45/m3 for bowser supplied groundwater.

The 2nd class water produced by the Hilton is used to flush toilets and for landscaping.

Excess water is often produced from the sewage plant, in which case it is sold.

11. Dr. Fabio Masi, Iridra Technical Director - Scientific Manager, LIFE WATACLIC Project Dr. Fabio Masi explained the main scope of the project; that of campaigning towards the reduction of water consumption.

He explained how water saving measures such as water metering, water saving taps and shower heads could reduce the amount of water used per capita.

Flow reducing devices, waste water treatment and an in-house non potable water distribution network could reduce water consumption per capita in the domestic sphere from 200 to 60 litres per day.

Using interventions on taps as an example, Dr Masi explained how implementing restrictors could reduce tap flow by as much as 3.8 liters. He then explained how the separation of wastewater into grey water and black water could bring added water saving benefits – grey water treatment could increase water savings between 60% and 70%.

He emphasized that this is an attractive option for hotels, which could use compact systems such as sequencing batch reactors, anaerobic digestion and bio-membrane treatments, which would all constitute an economically attractive grey water treatment system, as well as constructed wetlands integrated in the green architectural elements.

Dr. Masi noted that the implementation of flow reducing devices, coupled with waste water treatment and an in-house non potable water distribution network, could reduce the amount of water consumed per capita in the domestic sphere from 200 to 60 liters per day. If only flow reducing devices are used then the reduction is to 150 liters per day per capita.

The WATACLIC Project has drafted policies which include; new urban planning and building regulations to guide new ventures on water saving techniques, and the introduction of economic incentives as well as a tariffing system whereby the price of water would be directly proportionate to implemented water saving measures.

In the local context Dr Masi highlighted the benefits of a mandatory dual distribution network here in Malta. He explained that such system would provide a greater potential for use of 2 nd class water such as treated wastewater and rainwater.

14

12. Mrs Konstantina Toli, Programme Office, Alter Aqua GWP-Med Project A ‘water secure world’ is the vision adopted by the Non-Conventional Water Resource Programme currently taking place in Malta.

The project was originally carried out in Greece but due to its success it was expanded to include other countries within the Mediterranean region. Malta, Cyprus, Greece, Spain and Italy, being touristic countries with a severely water-stressed situation were all suitable candidates for this project. The project has the main aim of ensuring that rainwaterharvesting techniques are adopted within the above-mentioned countries. Rainwater harvesting was chosen as the project’s focus as a cost-effective and sustainable way of sourcing quality 2nd class water.

Ms Toli presented a set of figures that showed the success of the project in the Cyclades Island within Greece. By the end of the year 2011, 15 systems were installed in Tinos, Syros, Santorini and Naxos amongst others which lead to an estimated water yield of 6.5 to 7 million liters per year. A system set up on Santorini explored a new kind of rain water harvesting system using underground modular water tanks which could easily be constructed to meet unconventional shape Modular tanks can be constructed in and size restrictions of individual sites. This unconventional shapes and sizes. This allows innovative technology allowed premises with little space for conventional reservoirs to also sites with limited space to install reservoirs harvest rainwater – removing a barrier and harvest rainwater, removing a long previously preventing rainwater harvesting on standing barrier to rainwater harvesting. many premises.

13. Mr Tony Zahra, MHRA President Tony Zahra stated that hotels consider it important to decrease their water consumption as a cost cutting exercise and from an environmental responsibility point of view.

Nearly half the water produced is either lost through leakages or consumed without being paid for as an apparent loss.

He moved on to stress that hotels spend a significant portion of their income on utilities, and that while in-house efforts to cut costs are important, the industry would also like to see a national effort at better managing utilities. He highlighted that nearly half of the water produced locally by the Water Services Corporation is either lost through leakages or consumed without being paid for as an apparent loss. Paying consumers, including hotels, are therefore financing serious inefficiencies in management which is negatively impacting on them financially.

15

Closing speech

14. Ing. Anthony Rizzo, CEO Malta Resources Authority Ing. Rizzo highlighted the scarcity of freshwater resources in the Med and especially in Malta where the main resources are aquifers. An increasing population and standard of living has resulted in an exponential increase in water demand. The increase in abstraction to meet this demand has resulting in increased pressure on the islands aquifer systems. The end result has been a marked deterioration in quality of abstracted groundwater.

Government understands the need for resolving this situation which involves safeguarding the sustainability of our future. Some of the main successful measures government has taken: 1) Introduction of Reverse Osmosis to alleviate water demand, 2) Launch of water control by Water Services Corporation focused on network leak control. Now the actual leakage rate is only 18% with additional apparent losses at 31% (made of metering, billing, under-registration), 3) Commission of three new waste-water plants which apart from ensuring improved quality of coastal waters, have also created potential for a new water resource in place of groundwater, 4) A register of groundwater boreholes and requirement of all commercial and agricultural extractors to fit a volumetric meter, 5) Use of fiscal initiatives for rainwater harvesting systems by agricultural sector, 6) Upgrading of water meters.

Government has placed all these and others into a sound policy framework, launched this month as the National Water Policy. This introduces the following objectives: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

Provision of good quality water, Protection of aquatic resources, Sustainable use of the nation’s water resources, Fair and transparent regulation, Mitigation of storm water runoff, Adapting climate change impact.

Ing. Rizzo congratulated the MBB for the project, the objectives of which fit closely with the framework created by the policy. He stated that the project, by focusing on both efficiency in use of water and potential of using alternative water resources, provides a case of best practice on how the private sector can positively engage in sustaining government efforts to ensure a sustainable future for Malta.

16

5. Speaker contact details George Vella President Malta Business Bureau 00356 21 251 791 president@mbb.org.mt www.mbb.org.mt

Victor Buhagiar Manager Administration APS Bank 00356 25 603 396 Victor.buhagiar@apsbank.com.mt www.apsbank.com.mt

Dr. Marie Louise Mangion Director, Tourism and Sustainability Unit Ministry for Tourism, Culture and the Environment 00356 2291 5058 marie-louise.mangion@gov.mt www.tourism.gov.mt

Ing. Joseph Restall Hilton Malta Joseph.Restall@hilton.com www.hiltonmaltahotel.com

Geoffrey Saliba EU LIFE+ Investing in Water, Project Manager Malta Business Bureau 00356 21 251 719 or gsaliba@mbb.org.mt www.investinginwater.org www.mbb.org.mt Manuel Sapiano Senior Analyst (Hydrology) Malta Resources Authority manuel.sapiano@mra.org.mt www.mra.org.mt Ing. Marco Cremona EU LIFE+ Investing in Water, Expert 00356 21 251 719 mcremona@mbb.org.mt www.investinginwater.org www.mbb.org.mt Peter Gammeltoft Head of Unit, Water Protection Unit, DG ENV 00322 29686 95 Peter.Gammeltoft@ec.europa.eu http://ec.europa.eu/environment/

17

Dr Fabio Masi, Ph.D. Env.Sci., Environmental Chemist Technical Director - Scientific Manager IRIDRA 0039 055 470729 masi@iridra.com www.iridra.com Konstantina Toli Alter Aqua Programme Officer Global Water Partnership Mediterranean (GWP-Med) 0030210-3247490 konstantina@gwpmed.org www.gwpmed.org Mr Tony Zahra President MHRA 00356 25 760 000 tony.zahra@alpinemalta.com www.mhra.org.mt Ing. Anthony Rizzo Chief Executive Officer Malta Resources Authority anthony.rizzo@mra.org.mt www.mra.org.mt

For more information please contact: Geoffrey Saliba Project Manager EU LIFE+ Investing in Water Project Malta Business Bureau, Casa Leone, Pjazza Robert Samut, Floriana, Malta Tel: +356 21 251 719 | E-mail: gsaliba@mbb.org.mt Website: www.investinginwater.org, www.mbb.org.mt

In Partnership with

Project co-financiers and sponsors

Ministry for Tourism, Culture and the Environment

Event supporters

FM Environmental (Malta) Ltd Water Technology House, A15B, Marsa Ind Estate, Marsa , MRS3000 Email: fmmalta@fmenvironmental.com Tel: +356 2122 6172 • Fax: +356 2122 6171 Web: www.fmenvironmental.com www.greaseguardian.com

Panta Marketing & Services Ltd Triq il-Wied Tal-Imsida, Msida, MSD 9024, Malta Email: enquiries@pantalesco.com Tel: +356 2144 1361 Fax: +356 2144 0000 Web: www.pantalesco.com

18