The yearly bill to disinfect the Olympic-sized swimming pool at Tal-Qroqq is much higher than the cost to replenish it with fresh water, with chlorine costing twice as much.

Between April 2013 and last May, a total of €18,662 was spent to supply the national pool with 7,633 cubic metres of water. In contrast, the chlorine bill in the corresponding period was €40,769. This information was tabled in Parliament recently by Parliamentary Secretary Chris Agius in reply to Opposition MP Robert Cutajar.

From this information it also transpired that the monthly cost per cubic metre of fresh water had significantly gone down, from about €2.60 in February to €1.83 in May. The cheaper prices raised concerns that the quality of fresh water was being compromised, possibly by using second-class water.

Contacted by Times of Malta, the parliamentary secretary dispelled any fears, saying that weekly tests carried out on various samples showed that the water quality was within the safe parameters.

Mr Agius remarked that until recently there was no tender for the supply of water as the previous one had expired. During this interim period a number of suppliers were contracted, and the cheapest quote with the best test result was chosen, he said.

“Quotes and tests were confirmed by our water testing contractor so the decision was taken by an expert in the field,” the parliamentary secretary said.

Asked about the chlorine dosage, he said this was in line with previous years.

However, he remarked that the required dosage varied according to external factors, such as weather conditions.

As expected, the highest level of water consumption and chlorine use was in the hotter months, between May and September.

The highest water bill was in May (€2,335) and the highest consumption of chlorine was recorded in July (€6,390)