British period

Section and Plan of Cisterns in Vittoriosa – “Strada del Quartiere”
1847, Survey of Public Tanks and Cisterns
Courtesy: Archives, Water Services Corporation

Section and Plan of Cisterns in Vittoriosa – “Strada Porta Maggiore” and “nel Manderaggio”
1847, Survey of Public Tanks and Cisterns
Courtesy: Archives, Water Services Corporation

Section and Plan of Cisterns in Vittoriosa – “in Strada Torre San Giovanni”
1847, Survey of Public Tanks and Cisterns
Courtesy: Archives, Water Services Corporation

Section and Plan of Cisterns in Vittoriosa – “in Strada della Prigione vicino le fosse del grano” and “nel Bastione del Miratore”
Courtesy: Archives, Water Services Corporation

The importance of rainwater harvesting infrastructure as part of the national water supply resource base is reflected in the undertaking of regular surveys of their status by the authorities.  Of particular reference is the “Survey of Public Tanks and Cisterns” undertaken in 1847, which in addition to the location of the cisterns includes also details on their design and capacity.  Public tanks and cisterns provided important sources of water to supplement the supply from the aqueducts, in particular during the summer months when the flow from the springs would be reduced.

1847, Survey of Public Tanks and Cisterns in Valletta, Floriana, Cospicua, Vittoriosa and Senglea – Title Page
Courtesy: Archives, Water Services Corporation

The 1847 Survey provides design information on the following cisterns in Vittoriosa:

1.  Strada della Prigione vicino le Fosse
2.  Nel Bastione del Miratore
3. Sul Bastione del Miratore
4.  Strada Bastione delle Fosse
5.  In Strada del Quartiere
6.  In Strada Porta Maggioer
7. Nel Manderaggio
8. Strada Salita Porta Maggiore
9. Strada Torre San Giovanni
10. Strada dietro il Quartiere
11. Vicino la Porta dei Capuccini
12. Strada Brettanica
13. Piazza della Vittoria sotto la Statua
14. Sopra l’Antico Bacile
15. Strada Torre San Giovanni sotto la carcere del Vescovo

Section and Plan of Cisterns in Vittoriosa 1847, Survey of Public Tanks and Cisterns
Courtesy: Archives, Water Services Corporation

Regular surveys of the status of public rainwater harvesting cisterns was continued well into the first part of the 20^th century, as harvesting rainwater was the primary alternative source of water for secondary purposes in the Maltese islands.

1927 Survey by the Public Works Department indicating the location of Public Reservoirs and Cisterns in Vittoriosa.
Courtesy: Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects – Archives

“The Three Cities depend wholly on the Fawwara Aqueduct, the springs conveyed by which afford less than one-eight of the supply of water which those of the Wignacourt Aqueduct yield.  There is no connection between the Fawwara Aqueduct which supplies the Three Cities, and the Wignacourt Aqueduct which supplies Valletta, Floriana, Sliema and Hamrun. ……”

Osbert Chadwick, 1884, Report on the Water-Supply of Malta

“The following calculation shows that the water collected from roofs forms, or should form, an appreciable factor of the water supply.  The built-over area of Valletta and Floriana is 96.75 acres, exclusive of street and open spaces.  Deducting from this one-quarter, for internal court yards, there remains a total area of roof of 72 acres.  Now 16 inches of rain on 72 acres, ten per cent being deducted for waste, amounts to 23 millions of gallons a year, of 64,000 gallons a day. The population of Valletta and Floriana is about 32,000, so that the rain-fall on the roofs provides about two gallons per head a day.  It is probable that somewhat the same proportion obtains in the Three Cities and the Villages, so that it may be assumed that the rain-fall on the roof of his dwelling provides every Maltese with about 2 gallons of water a day.”

Osbert Chadwick, 1884, Report on the Water-Supply of Malta

By the late-19th  Century, rainwater harvested in public and private cisterns was therefore still an important resource for meeting the demand of the citizens and economic activities in the Three Cities.

Chadwick’s Proposal for providing a stable water supply to the Harbour Area from the Wied il-Kbir Pumping Station Supply.
Osbert Chadwick, 1884

Population and rainwater harvesting capacity in public and private cisterns in the Five Cities.
Osbert Chadwick, 1884

Estimate of costs for the works required to convey water from Marsa to the Three Cities. The total cost of the scheme was £2,526.
Osbert Chadwick, 1884