View source for Chadwick Lakes

{{About|valley in Malta|reservoir in the USA|Chadwick Lake}}
[[File:Malta - Rabat - Wied il-Qlejgha - Chadwick Lakes 05 ies.jpg|thumb|300px|One of the dams surrounded by fields, in Rabat]]
'''Chadwick Lakes''' are a number of dams, pouring into each other, on the island of [[Malta]]. The area is locally known as '''Wied il-Qlejgħa'''. Their location extends from Qliegħa Valley (Wied il-Qliegħa) in the limits of [[Mtarfa]] and [[Rabat, Malta|Rabat]], and extends to Għasel Valley ([[Wied il-Għasel]]) in the peripheries of [[Mosta]].<ref name="morana"/> It consists of a complex system of well-planned small dams, draining into Speranza Valley, then at [[Salina, Malta|Salina]] Bay, and then into the sea.<ref name="visit"/>

==History==
The lakes consists of a number of dams constructed by Sir Osbert Chadwick, a British engineer, in the late 19th century.<ref name="morana">{{cite book|last1=Morana|first1=Martin|title=Bejn kliem u storja: glossarju enċiklopediku dwar tradizzjonijiet - toponimi - termini storiċi Maltin|date=September 2011|publisher=Martin Morana (by author)|location=[[Malta]]|isbn=978-99957-0-137-6|oclc=908059040|language=Maltese|page=47}}</ref> The valley consists of a complex system of well-planned small dams, draining into Wied Speranza and ending at Salina Bay into the sea.<ref name="visit"/> The valley provides farmers with water to irrigate their land.<ref name="morana"/> Wied il-Qliegħa is only full during the winter months.<ref name="visit"/> During this period, the lakes are abundant of life. Biodiversity include of several indigenous plants, insects, tadpoles/frogs and crustaceans.<ref name="morana"/>

Chadwick Lakes is Malta's only freshwater stream big enough to be called a rivulet, providing a tranquil environment for the people to enjoy.<ref name="visit">{{cite web|title=A visit to Chadwick|url=http://kensphotoadventures.blogspot.com/2009/02/a-visit-to-chadwick.html|website=Ken's Photo Adventures|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305125900/http://kensphotoadventures.blogspot.com/2009/02/a-visit-to-chadwick.html|archivedate=5 March 2016|date=15 February 2009}}</ref><ref>[http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/malta/3.html The Victorians in Malta: Part III (Architecture and Civil and Military Engineering Projects)]</ref>

In February 2009, Matthew Psaila a 19 year old gunner, drowned during an [[Armed Forces of Malta]] training exercise in Wied il-Qliegħa.
This particular exercise is part of the C Company's training syllabus and had been practiced for several years.<ref>{{cite news|title=Soldiers acquitted over Gunner Matthew Psaila's death|url=http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-09-25/news/soldiers-acquitted-over-gunner-matthew-psailas-death-2716368897/|work=[[The Malta Independent]]|date=25 September 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202234842/http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-09-25/news/soldiers-acquitted-over-gunner-matthew-psailas-death-2716368897|archivedate=2 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/what-happened-on-july-25.724384 |title=What happened on... July 25 |publisher=Timesofmalta.com |date=1940-08-22 |accessdate=2020-02-27}}</ref>

As of 2018, Chadwick Lakes has been a site of particular interest to Biodiversity and Conservation specialists as the presence of alien species of crayfish is putting significant pressure on the local environment via predation and habitat destruction. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://academic.oup.com/jcb/article/38/6/748/5096909 |title=Invasion by non-indigenous freshwater decapods of Malta and Sicily, central Mediterranean Sea &#124; Journal of Crustacean Biology &#124; Oxford Academic |publisher=Academic.oup.com |date= |accessdate=2020-02-27}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{coord|35.8919|N|14.3900|E|source:wikidata|display=title}}
{{Commonscat|Chadwick Lakes}}

[[Category:Valleys of Malta]]
[[Category:Rabat, Malta]]
[[Category:Mtarfa]]