World Water Day, being marked today, is celebrating the workers that ensure the safe delivery of water. Stephanie Fsadni takes a look at what the Water Services Corporation does in this regard and at some of its projects currently under way.

Tap water is a commodity we often take for granted. Every time we open the tap, we expect water to run and are quite bewildered when, on rare occasions, it does not. We tend to forget that such a commodity is still considered a luxury for people in less developed countries and also fail to realise the complex infrastructure, engineering and brains required to deliver water safely to our taps.

The theme of this year’s water day, being marked today, is in fact, Water and Jobs. Almost half of the world’s workers work in water-related sectors and nearly all jobs depend on water and those that ensure its safe delivery.

The theme focuses on how quantity and quality of water can change workers’ lives and livelihoods – and even transform societies and economies.

To mark the day, the Water Services Corporation – the public entity responsible for the complete drinking and waste water treatment in the Maltese islands – held an open weekend on March 12 and 13, during which the public could visit its facilities and learn about various EU-funded projects currently under way. The WSC continuously strives to reduce costs, increase its efficiency and give a better service to customers, besides protecting the environment.

“Malta has enough water supply and the quality is good,” says Stephen Zerafa, public relations officer at the WSC.

“Quality has been good for a few years: it meets all EU and health standards. However, there is an issue with the taste.”

To make water safe for human use, it is injected with chlorine, which is a very powerful weapon against bacteria but which can leave an unpleasant taste (and, sometimes, smell).

Zerafa describes the complex underground water infrastructure as a cobweb with various points at which chlorine is injected. These points are present at each water production unit, meaning all boreholes, reservoirs, pumping stations and reverse osmosis plants. The chemical is injected in high doses at these points, to serve all the households along a particular trajectory, with the chlorine concentration diminishing as it reaches the user at the end of the line.

People living close to these injection points, however, may experience a strong chlorine taste.

Some people complain the water tastes too much of chlorine but then it’s fine if they use it to make tea. Some are not bothered in the least

“Some people complain the water tastes too much of chlorine but then it’s fine if they use it to make tea. Some are not bothered in the least. It’s very subjective but the issue exists,” Zerafa says.

In view of this, WSC has launched a strategy to radically improve the taste of water in Malta.

It is thus collaborating with Israel’s national water utility company Mekorot to introduce a new way of disinfecting tap water, called in-situ chlorination of water. This technology uses electrolysis to extract chlorine from salt particles present in underground water and turn it into drinking water. It also does so in an eco-friendly way as it generates no sludge or by-products.

“This technology carries a number of advantages: not only does it reduce the storage and manhandling of chlorine gas which is highly toxic and can create safety problems, but provides a solution to the taste problem. You can also put hundreds of such machines across the island, without affecting the people living close to them.”

Another WSC project deals with sewage water. The corporation is in the process of creating “new water” or reclaimed water by turning treated sewage water, that is so far discharged into the sea, into high-quality second-class water, which can be used for farming, agriculture, industry, landscaping, recreation and sport facilities. This is done by means of new polishing plants – which use ultra-filtration processes – at our islands’ sewage treatment plants at Ras il-Ħobz in Gozo, Iċ-Ċumnija, in the limits of Mellieħa, and Ta’ Barkat, in the limits of Xgħajra.

“Once again, we’ve turned a challenge into a resource. If all players take advantage of this, we would not only be reducing pressure on the aquifer but actually reversing the damage done to it over the years,” Zerafa says.

At first, this type of water would be available via bowsers. However, if interest increases, it could be distributed via dedicated infrastructure directed towards agricultural and industrial zones.

In the winter months, when demand for this ‘new water’ will be low, it will be treated to an even higher standard and will be used for aquifer recharging.

This project is expected to be launched in the early summer months.

WSC is also highly concerned about its interface with clients. Through a live map, customers can already check about various possible concerns such as water cuts, potential traffic disruptions and planned waste water improvments. Those who have a smart meter and register on the WSC site can also view their consumption patterns online.

The corporation’s IT experts are now working on a new leakage notification system – software which profiles users and alerts them of irregular water consumption.

“For example, a married couple with three children consume X amount of litres per day. At night, each person is expected to use two litres per person per hour at most – what is called ‘legitimate nightflow’. If the consumption does not decrease at night, it’s obvious there’s a problem and the client would be notified. It could be a leak in the terrace or in the garden.”

They are also fine-tuning an app through which one can monitor the consumption at home in real time.

“If the consumption shoots up at a point when you’re not at home, you might realise that your neighbour is stealing water from you,” Zerafa says.

Speaking of leakage, WSC is considered a model for leakage reduction, so much so that WSC engineers are consulting their counterparts in Beirut to help them reduce their water leakage problem.

“For the past 20 years, we have worked to assiduously reduce the leakage. In 1995, there was an average loss of 4,000 cubic metres of water per hour, which is roughly the capacity of 8,000 roof tanks,” Zerafa explains.

“After 20 years of hard work, this has been reduced to 400 cubic metres per hour all over the islands.

“One may still argue that this figure is high, but considering the vast network ofpipes, running for thousands of kilometres, and the millions of joints, this is quite an achievement. Nowhere in the world is leak free.”

For more information, visit www.wsc.com.mt.

Testing the quality and safety of water

The Water Services Corporation has a well-equipped laboratory which ensures the quality and safety of pumped water. This has been operating since the foundation of the corporation and carries out thousands of tests a year. It is currently being upgraded thanks to EU funds and should be able to handle a larger number of tests, some of which are currently sent abroad at a huge cost.

Another facility tests emerging pollutants as a result of processed sewage that is thrown back into the sea.