New

New water for a thirsty land: Sociomaterial bricolage of treated wastewater irrigation on Gozo, Malta

Georges Gabriel
Independent Researcher, Brussels, george2gabriel@gmail.com

Luna Sylverans
Independent Researcher, Antwerp, lunasylverans@live.be

Edoardo de Paola
Independent Researcher, Brussels, edoardo.depaola@gmail.com

Maarten Loopmans
KU Leuven, Leuven, maarten.loopmans@kuleuven.be

ABSTRACT: This paper examines the sociomaterial bricolage that emerged on the island of Gozo, Malta, following the introduction of treated wastewater for irrigation, commonly branded as 'New Water'. Drawing on an actor-centred sociomaterial bricolage approach, the study investigates how farmers adapted infrastructures and institutions in response to the opportunities, constraints and inequalities created by the new-water system. Based on qualitative fieldwork involving interviews with farmers, Water Services Corporation employees, and local officials, the analysis compares four water dispensers that are each operating under different conditions of water availability and pressure. The findings show that infrastructural and institutional adaptations are closely intertwined and are shaped by material conditions. At water-abundant ‘head-ender’ locations near the beginning of the water distribution canal, farmers developed arrangements enabling simultaneous water sharing, while water scarcity and unreliable supply at tail-ender locations encouraged forms of time sharing and stricter coordination. These adaptations also generated new tensions that prompted interventions at broader system-level scales. The study demonstrates how sociomaterial bricolage is multiscalar and path dependent, with successive adaptations responding to the consequences of earlier interventions; it also highlights the importance of anticipating such dynamics when designing equitable wastewater reuse systems.

KEYWORDS: Sociomaterial bricolage, circularity, wastewater reuse, irrigation, Malta