Farmers are still waiting to receive compensation for their decimated harvest after sewage leaked into the water table when the treatment plant in Mellieħa started operations last October.
The farmers working the fields surrounding the plant at Iċ-Ċumnija said they could only start farming again about a month ago when the authorities notified them that the water was safe to use.
Entire fields planted with crops ripe for picking in February and March were lost, resulting in a substantial loss of income for the farmers who live off these fields, after an underground pipe carrying sewage to the plant leaked in the latter part of last year.
The Sunday Times reported last week that the plant is regularly dumping sewage into the sea, though the Infrastructure Ministry said farmers were to blame for this because they had been dumping slurry into the sewage system.
However, those in the immediate vicinity of the plant insist it has nothing to do with them. Joe Borg, a 58-year-old farmer with fields spread across the valley, said: "We are the ones who have suffered damage from the plant. When the sewage seeped into our boreholes, they sealed them up and destroyed all our crops. We had artichokes, garlic, carrots, broad beans, and cauliflower. We got nothing.
"There are no animal farms here in the vicinity of the plant. There was one man from l-Aħrax who used to turn up with a bowser and dump slurry into the sewage system but that was some time ago and he hasn't been seen since. They know who he is so why don't they go speak to him rather than blame all of us?"
Mr Borg said the farmers had been promised compensation for their losses, but were not told how much or when they would be paid.
Ninu Caruana, a 78-year-old farmer who has worked the fields in Mellieħa all his life, said: "Why are they saying this about us? None of us have animals here. We grow vegetables. I have two tumoli here and I got nothing out of them last winter because of the sewage.
"There are around eight farmers here who have suffered because of the plant. At least, I have fields in other areas that I could work, but that's not the case for all of us.
"They said they would compensate losses but we haven't heard anything yet."
The Infrastructure Ministry said the cause of the groundwater contamination had been resolved.
"This problem was resolved months ago and the health authorities have released all boreholes for use by the farmers. The problem was caused by a defective deep sewer connection that was promptly fixed by the Water Services Corporation, which has since carried out extensive clean-ups until all contamination was removed."
The farmers confirmed the situation had improved but said they could not start working the fields again until a month ago.
"It took them a month to find out where the sewage leak was and during that time they sealed our boreholes. That was followed by a period of heavy rain so we couldn't work the fields. For four months, we earned nothing because we live off these fields," Mr Borg said.
Attempts to obtain comments from the management of the plant, developed by Polidano Group and IBI Idrobioimpianti Spa, on the pumping of sewage into the sea proved futile; as were efforts to obtain replies from the operator responsible, the Water Services Corporation.
The Infrastructure Ministry replied on their behalf: "The farm waste that is causing severe loading on the plant (mainly emanates) from pig farms.
"In the north catchment area there are around 9,000 heads. Pig slurry has an extremely high organic pollution content... The system (at the plant) has a design limit."
Asked what action is being taken, the ministry said: "In order to resolve the issue on a temporary basis we requested the relevant authorities to direct farmers to dispose of such waste on the south catchment network."
The sewage treatment plant in the south is not yet operating, which means that the waste is dumped directly into the sea.
"This is only a temporary measure as the long-term solution will be the installation of farm waste treatment plants," the ministry added.