The water supply resources of Malta

Abstract

In ancient times there was no water supply problem in Malta. The not inconsiderable winter rainfall, and the storage capacity of the rock formations of which the Island is built, were more than adequate to meet the simple needs of the indigenous population of cultivators, the limited demands of the small garrisons installed by the successive powers which dominated this sector of the Mediterranean, and of the small craft which made use of the Island's harbours. The springs from the Upper Coralline catchment areas, and from the sea level water tables in the lower parts of the main valleys of the island, have been drawn upon from the earliest times. In areas removed from these perennial sources large underground tanks, excavated to store water derived from surface run-off during the winter rain-storms, were in use as far back as early Neolithic times, just as they are at the-present day. [extract]