The Water Services Corporation insisted it was not aware of drainage seepage at a residence in Swatar, rebutting claims made by the Health Ministry.
Times of Malta reported last month that a Swatar man was having to live with drainage water seeping into his basement with no remedial action being taken by the authorities.
When contacted, a spokeswoman from the Health Ministry, responsible for the Environmental Health Directorate, insisted that “various investigations and tests were performed both on the neighbour’s drainage system and also by WSC personnel”.
However, a WSC spokesman denied any knowledge of the case, pointing out that the engineer in charge of the area reported he was not aware of the matter.
The resident, Franco Xuereb, said that no WSC workers had contacted him, insisting that while the health inspector assigned to his case did say WSC inspectors had carried out works they had never visited his house.
“If WSC inspectors did show up, they never knocked on my door. However, I’m not surprised there is confusion because I have been dealing with this for over a month now and I’m still in the same situation I was when the fluid first started seeping in,” Mr Xuereb contended.
He said the problem was getting worse and, as temperatures soared, the puddles of liquid seeping into his house were attracting mosquitoes.
“I stopped going down to the basement unless I really need to because the walls and the ceiling are all covered with mosquitoes and I don’t want to catch some disease,” Mr Xuereb said.
He pointed out he did not exclude taking legal action to get the authorities to act because living in such conditions was becoming unbearable.
Mr Xuereb insisted that the problem could be causing long-term damage to his property and he would, therefore, hold the authorities responsible if they persisted in not taking any action.
“The problem has now reached a point where it’s not just about the inconvenience but actual damage to my property,” he said.
Swatar resident Franco Xuereb says he has had to live with puddles of drainage water in his house as health authorities took their time to act.