The project will implement a catchment based hydrological monitoring network in a number of catchments throughout the Maltese islands. This monitoring network shall measure information on rainfall, runoff, wind speed, solar radiation and evaporation within each of these catchments. The design of the monitoring network shall be carried out in a way so as to provide information on how rainfall runoff relationships vary in different catchments, depending on the dominant land use within the catchment.
For example, how do rainfall and runoff vary in a catchment where the predominant land use is agricultural land? And how does this compare to catchments which have been extensively urbanised? The scientific data generated from this project will allow the development of catchment based rainfall-runoff coefficients which allow a reliable assessment of the relationship between rainfall, runoff, recharge and evapotranspiration and therefore allow for a more sustainable use of our inland waters.