Production from RO plants stepped up because of poor rainfall

Poor rainfall over the past two years caused the Water Services Corporation to increase the production of water from reverse osmosis plants and revise its financial projections, the WSC's annual report 2001-2002 shows.

"While the WSC had budgeted for the year 2002 on the assumption that half the total water produced would be from RO plants and half from groundwater sources, the actual production from RO plants had to be increased as the quality of the groundwater deteriorated appreciably as a result of the lack of rainfall," the corporation's chairman, Michael Falzon said in his statement.

"Thanks to the installation of energy saving systems in the high pressure pumps at the Pembroke RO plant, the amount of electrical energy per cubic metre of water produced was reduced appreciably. Had this technology not been as successful, the corporation's electricity bill would have skyrocketed," he added.

The report shows that production by the RO plants over the past year rose to 60 per cent of the total amount of water supplied, and despite the energy savings (of some 20 per cent), electricity costs increased marginally at the RO plants as a result, from a projected Lm2.25 million to Lm2.72 million.

Mr Falzon said that work planned for this year to ensure that water supplied to practically all consumers conformed to the EU parameters for nitrate content was well advanced, despite a major hitch with the Museums Department and MEPA on the route of the Naxxar reservoir-Mosta pipeline because of the presence of cart ruts.

"By the end of 2002, residents of Mosta will no longer be supplied from water directly from the Ta' Speranza pumping station, a groundwater source with high levels of nitrates. This water will now be blended with RO water at Naxxar reservoir before being distributed to consumers" Mr Falzon said.

Similar interventions in Gozo were also proceeding on schedule.

Mr Falzon said that besides savings on electricity consumption, the corporation had successfully carried out a cost cutting exercise to reduce money spent on overtime and shift allowance as well as by renegotiating the interest rate by which it serviced its bank loans.

The WSC report, due to be debated in parliament shortly, says the corporation is planning to launch a water conservation campaign. The campaign will be spread over a number of years. The campaign slogan will be L-ilma prezzjuz.

The government subvention to the WSC to subsidise the price of water has dropped from Lm10.06 million for the year which ended in September 2001 to Lm9.3 million this year, the lowest since the WSC was set up 10 years ago. The projected subvention for next year is also Lm9.3 million.