The ‘suspicious’ outflow of sewage in a popular Gozitan dive spot is mainly due to excess farming water, Times of Malta has learnt.
The treated discharge, in Ras il- Ħobż, sparked outrage last month after avid diver Matthew Montebello uploaded an underwater video of the effluent on to his Facebook account.
The Water Services Corporation reacted with a statement explaining that the outflow was treated, but advised against bathing in the area as it was not disinfected.
Divers later raised doubts about the discharge, insisting the size and density of the underwater plume fluctuated drastically.
“Sometimes it’s clean and sometimes it’s murky. The authorities have been sending divers to work on this all summer. It’s quite suspicious,” professional diver Brian Azzopardi said.
A WSC spokesman told this newspaper the treatment plant would stop all discharges in the coming years as part of the national water reuse strategy.
“The strategy includes plans to completely reuse treated water. This means that, eventually, there will be no more discharges from Ras il-Ħobż,” the spokesman said.
Eventually there will be no more discharges from Ras il-Ħobż
A WSC source explained that the outflow had occasionally appeared murkier because large deposits of farming water would overwhelm the filtration process.
“This is occasional and there isn’t much we can do to stop it. However, I must stress that this falls in line with EU regulations and poses no environmental risk,” the source said.
The dumping of untreated sewage is prohibited by the EU Urban Waste Water Directive.
In 2011, Malta became one of the first countries to adhere to the directive when it opened three treatment plants.
The WSC insisted that water quality tests on the murky discharge indicated the treated water was of top quality. The tests were carried out on the water in the treatment facility and not on that discharged from the submerged pipe.
The spokesman said there was no need to test that water as the waste which left the treatment facility was the same as that dumped at sea. He added that the discharged water looked murky because of the depth and mineral properties of the water.
“This outflow occurred 60 metres below the surface and was essentially fresh water mixing with salt water. Discharges of this nature always look this way,” he said.
Even though the area is well beyond the authorised bathing zone, hordes of divers flock to the sheltered coastal stretch, famed for its three scuttled wrecks.
Lifelong diver and school operator Sally Carr had described the area as vastly important to the sport.
“It is one of Gozo’s most popular spots. If we can’t dive there it would have a powerful impact on diving tourism. It would be a disaster,” Mrs Carr had said.
The WSC source, however, dismissed the diver’s concerns insisting the discharge was cleaned, adding that it was “stupid” to dive near any outfall.
“It just stands to reason that you shouldn’t dive there. Even the wrecks are quite some distance from there, so why would you go there at all,” he said.