Dense, milky effluent is still spreading through Pietà Creek, filling Hay Wharf, despite the fact that a damaged sewage pipe believed to be causing the discharge was repaired on Wednesday.

Environmental Health Directorate head John Attard Kingswell yesterday initially said “the source” had been identified and notified to repair the drains accordingly.

However, when later contacted by The Times, following more complaints from residents, Mr Attard Kingswell confirmed that white effluent was still flowing freely into the bay.

“Despite the repair works, the effluent persists. It seems as if the damage is more extensive. Investigations are under way to determine the exact location of the sewage pipe damage as the network is a complex one.”

The directorate would not name “the source” but Malta Dairy Products Limited company secretary Martin Grech confirmed that the company had found a leak in one of its sewage pipes. He insisted that the problem had been solved from their end.

“As soon as we were notified last week, we inspected our network of underground pipes. One of the sewage pipes had sustained some damage. The pipe in question was repaired on Wednesday.

“Therefore, if the discharge at Pietà Creek was coming from our end, the problem should now be solved as the pipe was repaired.”

Resident Alfred Vella, who has been living with the stench for more than a week, said the situation had become “unacceptable”.

“Hay Wharf is filled with this dense, white substance. I don’t know whether it’s milk, dust or construction debris. All I know is that the situation is not improving.”

He said the health authorities had sent a bowser to the area, opened up the manholes and cleaned them out.

“Yet the problem persists. The stench is not always the same but still there. I don’t know whether it’s originating from the milky substance,” he said.

The problem was flagged last week, when readers reported a foul smell over the Hay Wharf area, coupled with a dense, milky white patch that had begun to slowly spread through the sea.

Pietà mayor Malcolm Mifsud had passed on the complaints to the Environmental Health Directorate.

Asked whether the bay will be cleaned, Mr Attard Kingswell said the area would clear itself naturally since it is not the bathing season and the area in question is not a bathing zone.