The illegal dumping of waste into the sewage system costs the Water Services Corporation €2 million a year, but the source of the problem was not addressed in the Budget.
A large part of the illegal discharge into the sewage system comes from livestock farms because there are no treatment facilities to deal with the waste.
Farmers are forced to choose between two illegal options: dump the slurry (animal waste) on agricultural land or into the sewage system, both of which are illegal.
The Budget presented last Monday did not provide farmers with a solution, save for a waste transfer station in Gozo that will only serve to take the waste to Malta where it cannot be treated.
The lack of solutions has burdened the WSC with millions of euros in expenses over the years, fixing the problems caused by illegal dumping. It is the first time the WSC has put a price on that burden, finally answering questions sent by The Sunday Times of Malta three months ago.
“The cost of non-domestic discharges into the sewage system is estimated at around €2 million a year,” a spokesman said.
He explained the impact of illegal discharge into the sewage system, including the blocking of sewers and pumping station pumps, accelerated mechanical erosion on crude waste water pumps and the deterioration of flow meters, conveyors and mixers.
Despite the country’s progress in setting up sewage treatment plants to handle all the country’s domestic waste, Malta is having difficulty complying with the EU Urban Wastewater Directive, which regulates the quality of water dumped into the sea.
The continued dumping of farmyard waste into the sewage network “sends the system haywire for a short period of time” and acceptable standards are exceeded.
In a letter sent to the Director of Environment Policy in October 2006, WSC had called for “all untreated, direct and indirect agricultural waste discharges to the sewers to be discontinued”.
The corporation still stands by that demand: “WSC’s position was always against the receipt of any untreated non-domestic wastewater into the sewers, including farmyard waste. This position was clearly stated on various occasions, years before the construction of the urban wastewater treatment plants, pointing out the implications and consequences of such practices. This position remains and will remain unaltered.”
But due to the absence of treatment facilities for farm waste, the corporation is forced to continue tolerating the situation. Last year, it launched another appeal saying the discharges were causing blockages at the treatment plants and occasional slicks of partially treated sewage in the sea off the coast of Xgħajra, Iċ-Ċumnija, Mellieħa and Ras il-Ħobz in Gozo.