No pollution traced off Marsaxlokk coast

Daniel Mercieca was right to point out a drainage overflow in the sea somewhere near Marsaxlokk (July 23). However, we feel it was an overstatement to relate the incident as some kind of underperformance of the new sewage treatment plant at Ta’ Barkat.

Ta’ Barkat treats around 50,000 cubic metres of raw sewage per day. Prior to being commissioned, this huge amount of sewage used to pollute the whole southeast coast of Malta, visible from kilometres away. The same used to happen prior to the operation of the other two plants at Ras Il-Ħobż in Gozo and Iċ-Ċumnija in Mellieħa.

We are now treating 100 per cent of our sewage before disposal at sea, which is a huge leap forward in the betterment of our environment. Success or failure of the plants depends on the performance of 2,300 kilometres of sewage infrastructure which conveys wastewater from our homes, factories, businesses, etc. to the above-mentioned sewage treatment plants. However, notwithstanding the huge efforts made and the vast sums invested, we still, sometimes, come across minor cases of sea pollution similar to that reported by Mr Mercieca. These are commonly caused by unscrupulous persons who either discharge liquid waste from boats in harbour areas or dump oils, fats, rags, straw and other illegal materials down the drains which cause blockages. Blockages cause sewage overflows which often end up in the sea. The Water Services Corporation does its best to monitor the wastewater system by carrying out hundreds of CCTV inspections per year and regularly cleaning kilometres of sewer mains every year by its jetting bowsers, as well as by the constant checking by personnel from the Discharge Permit Unit.

When the Water Services Corporation came across Mr Mercieca’s complaint on the morning of July 23, personnel scoured the Marsaxlokk coastline assisted by a member of the local council who is very familiar with the area. We could find no trace of any sewage pollution. I am not saying that Mr Mercieca was not correct, but unless we are given precise locations, dates and times it is very difficult to zero in on the problem because certain sewage overflows are sometimes very transitory, lasting only a few minutes or hours, making them very hard to trace.

The WSC relies upon civic-minded citizens like Mr Mercieca for accurate reports of overflows and illegal discharges into the public sewers. We cannot do much with scant details like “it was a pretty unpopular beach just off Marsaxlokk”.

Incidentally, a second search carried out around the Marsxlokk coast on Monday morning again failed to find any trace of pollution.