The awareness of potable water resources among Maltese society

Abstract

As Ismail Serageldin (1995) stated “The wars of the next century will be fought over water”. This statement is not to be taken lightly because there are already water conflicts which involve people’s lives. Malta’s natural freshwater sources are not enough for the present demand. It is amongst the countries which will be hit by the intense water scarcity which will persist as the years go on. Moreover, the island of Malta is densely populated and because it is small in land size, it has different land uses with different users, including; industrial, agricultural, tourism and domestic uses. This dissertation tested the level of potable water awareness of the Maltese public through a set of questions which were gathered in a questionnaire and disseminated throughout the five districts of Malta. The questionnaire included a variety of questions which tackled various matters that which have to do with the use and production of water. After all the responses had been gathered and arranged according to the age groups, districts and gender, these were analysed and the author was able to conclude the result of the study. According to the author, this study proved that there is high level of awareness on the present situation of water amongst the general public. People are knowledgeable on the value of this important resource and know that the Maltese islands have a great problem when it comes to water quantity. Water pollution is another crucial matter which was also included in the questionnaire. The outcome from these questions was that water pollution is clearly a known issue which can have serious repercussions.