WSC to upgrade reverse osmosis plants

The Water Services Corporation is finalising preparations for the upgrading of reverse osmosis plants by using a new type of membrane and more energy efficient equipment while improving the quality of water produced.

Chairman Michael Falzon says in the WSC's annual report, tabled in Parliament yesterday, that the Lm1.9 million project will be co-funded by the EU, which will meet 73 per cent of the cost.

The project will raise capacity from 75,000 cubic metres per day to 96,000 cubic metres per day while power consumption will decline and the chloride level will be below 200 mg/l in all three plants.

The annual report shows that demand for water fell over the past year due to higher tariffs and more effective leakage control. Output from RO plants was raised by 2.7 per cent however, to conserve groundwater sources, which currently account for 43 per cent of water produced.

New CEO Marc Muscat said over-extraction of ground water was causing deterioration of underground water quality and it was therefore imperative for the WSC to continue to improve the quality of water from reverse osmosis plants.

A significant plus in the upgrading of the RO plants would be an improvement in the WSC's ability to blend water from reverse osmosis and underground sources.

He said the corporation also wanted to determine the best possible manner to increase rainwater harvesting that would lead to groundwater recharging.

It was also embarking on an in-depth study of artificial groundwater recharging and would collaborate further with the Malta Resources Authority in this area. (See also feature on Maltese engineer's proposals at http://business.timesofmalta.com )

The WSC report shows that the corporation is gaining momentum on the building of sewage treatment plants near Mgarr ix-Xini in Gozo and Ic-Cumnija in the north of Malta and will eliminate the discharge of raw sewage in the north of Malta (including Gozo) late this year, followed by the commissioning of the largest of the three plants near Xghajra in the south of Malta at the end of next year.