The scenic beauty at Wied il-Mielaħ in Gozo was marred yesterday after a large brown patch of smelly sludge stretched for several metres out to sea, caused by the only sewage outfall left on that island.

Wied il-Mielaħ, in Għarb, is the only remaining sewage outfall in Gozo pumping raw drainage into the sea.

Even though the residents are aware of the outflow, the smell and extent of the outflow was so bad yesterday that readers sent in their comments and photos complaining about the damage.

In January 2008, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi inaugurated a €7.2 million sewage treatment plant in Gozo at Ras il-Hobż, which replaced the three of the four outfalls in San Blas, Wied l-Għasri and Mġarr ix-Xini.

Eventually, the Water Services Corporation will build a pumping station in Għarb that will transfer the sewage to the treatment plant, Water Services Corporation CEO Marc Muscat said.

Once this was done, the outfall would stop, he said.

However, following yesterday's complaints, the corporation was investigating whether there was a blockage in the system which might have created the large patch, he added.

John Michael Mizzi, who lives in Gozo, warned that the patch of sludge was stretching out carried by the strong winds for kilometres upstream to the main tourist beaches on the island.

"While walking in the magnificent Wied il-Mielaħ valley the sound of sewage flowing in the pipes leading to sea can be heard like a strong water stream," he said.

The situation had been highlighted several times in the media by Gozitans and criticised by Alternattiva Demokratika, who last November, said they had asked the European Commission to intervene because the outflow violated the Urban Wastewater Directive.

When contacted, a spokesman for the planning authority said it was monitoring the situation.

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