General National Id Malta_01 Site name Bulebel Industrial Estate, Malta Mean Sea Level Summary Aquifer recharge with highly polished treated effluents. With a high population density and almost inexistent surface waters, Malta is in a situation of over abstraction of its groundwater resources and where its total water demand exceeds the sustainable yield of the naturally renewable freshwater resources. Demand comes from the domestic and agricultural sectors alike (the domestic use can even exceed the agricultural use with the arrival of tourists during touristic seasons). From a qualitative point of view, freshwater resources are also under threat resulting from nitrates and salt water intrusions. Light or indepth? In-depth The in-depth description of the case study cs-mt-01-final_version.pdf NUTS Code Malta RBD code MTMALTA Transboundary 0 Data provider Camille Parrod, ACTeon Source(s) Assessing the environmental impact of artificial recharge by highly polished treated effluent on an unconfined aquifer system NWRM(s) implemented in the case study Restoration of natural infiltration to groundwater Longitude 14.523394 Latitude 35.864492 Site information Climate zone warm temperate dry Type Actual Test Site Monitoring maintenance Monitoring impacts effects 1 Monitoring location Edge of Field/Plot Monitoring parameters Water level (height of water column above probe), salinity, electrical conductivity and groundwater temperature. Organic pollutants (Pharmaceuticals - Carbamezepine, Acetominophen, Diazemam, Diclofenac, Dilantin, Fluoxetine, Gemfibrozil, Hydrocodone, Ibuprofen, Iopromide, Meprobamate, Naproxen, Pentoxifylene, Mefanamic Acid Solvents/Plasticizers/Surfactants - Dibutylphtalate, Glycol Ether, Alkyl Benzene, Dibromochloromethane, Perfluorooctanic Acid, Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid, BisphenolA Personal Care Products - Caffeine, Galoxolide, Oxybenzone, TCEP and DEET Steroids - Androstenedione, Estradiol, Estriol, Estrone, Ethinylestradiol, Progesterone, Testosterone AntiMicrobial Agents - Trimethoprim, Triclosan, Sulfamedthoxazole, Erythromycin) and conventional pollutants (electrical conductivity, chloride, nitrate and bacterial content). Performance Performance impact estimation method Catchment outlet Performance impact estimation information Background conditions at the recharge site monitored through two wells located in the immediate vicinity of the recharge well (pre-recharge): use of two multi-parametric groundwater probes; Water level monitoring (post-recharge): use of a water level contact gauge. Design & implementations Application scale Plot Installation date 2010-06 Performance timescale < 1 year Area (ha) 21660 Design capacity description ±105 mg/l of Nitrate content in the arriving effluent was mitigated, increase of ±1.3m post-artificial recharge over the drawdown levels and 0.6m over the long-term background level Constraints Availability of sufficient treated effluent; quality of the polished effluent; production costs for delivering and polishing the effluent; short- and long-term cyclic behaviour in the water levels. Favourable preconditions Location (next to a wastewater treatment plant); available equipment. Public consultation 0 Contractural arrangements 0 Design contractual arrangement Arrangement type Responsibility Role Comments Name Design consultation activity Activity stage Key issues Name Comments Design land use change Land use change type Design authority Authority type Role Responsibility Name Comments National water authority Implementation Manuel Sapiano, Malta Resources Authority The MRA was responsible for leading the Maltese pilot project from the MEDIWAT research project†™s point of view. 'MRA is also responsible for issuing authorizations (after a quality control) for injecting water into the aquifer through boreholes. Private property owners Monitoring Water Services Corporation The WSC was responsible for assisting MRA from a technical and operational standing point. It owns the purification plant where the experiment took place, and provided the technical expertise and equipment. Lessons, risks, implications... Key lessons A hydro-geological assessment of the aquifer system must be carried out before any artificial recharge scheme using treated effluents is implemented, in order to assess the prevalence of local and regional groundwater flow should anything go wrong. Effluents should undergo further treatment in order to comply with the EU Directives' requirements concerning recharge of groundwater bodies. Success factor(s) Success factor type Success factor role Comments Financing possibilities main factor Other main factor Existing regulations secondary factor Financing Financing type Comments EU-funds: Cohesion and regional development funds Cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund Barrier Barrier type Barrier role Comments Other main barrier Lack of sufficient treated wastewater resource (quantity of effluents available for recharge) Lacking financing sources main barrier Cost of polishing effluent too high to be sustainable at the moment Other secondary barrier Lack of a dedicated distribution network for the re-use of treated effluent Driver Driver type Driver role Comments Legal obligations main driver WFD requirements (annual abstraction from the groundwater body does not exceed the long-term annual average rate of overall recharge of the body of groundwater; necessary controls are in place to eliminate the possibility of any degradation in the qualitative status of the receiving body of groundwater) Other main driver Availability of European funding for research projects in this area Financing share Financing share type Share Comments Policy, general governance and design targets Policy description Test the hydrogeological response of the aquifer system in the immediate region surrounding an artificial recharge well; test the quality of treated effluents used for artificial recharge of an aquifer Part of wider plan 0 Policy target Target purpose Groundwater Recharge Pollutants Removal Policy pressure Pressure directive Relevant pressure Policy area Policy area type Policy area focus Name Comments Policy impact Impact directive Relevant impact Policy wider plan Wider plan type Wider plan focus Name Comments Policy requirement directive Requirement directive Specification Full Context Collection(aka Doorway or Gallery) Case Studies Pathway(aka Context) Default view Area(aka Level or Site) ALL