An operational glitch during maintenance on the wastewater plant at Iċ-Ċumnija in Mellieħa resulted in raw sewage being discharged into the sea, the Water Service Corporation (WSC) has confirmed. 

The incident happened last Monday but no public statement was issued on the matter. 

However Times of Malta was alerted about the leak by a reader who sent a photo of a murky brown patch along the rock coast below the plant.

Contacted by the Times of Malta, a corporation spokesman insisted that the problem was a localised one related to preventive maintenance.

He added that no bypass of raw sewage into the sea was planned as it was channelled into a retention basin for the very brief period of the maintenance operation. 

“However, the flow to the plant was larger than expected, possibly due to the weather conditions on the day, with the result that some sewage leaked into the sea,” he said. 

The maintenance work at the plant related to an improvement in the aeration grid which is crucial in the treatment process.