The sewage network needs an upgrade

The public health authorities have banned swimming in St George’s Bay and Balluta Bay because of harmful bacterial contaminants in the sea.

The cause of the pollution is undoubtedly untreated sewage making its way into the sea.

The source, however, is being investigated. It is unclear at this stage whether the contamination was the result of damage to the public sewers or direct discharge into the sea by a private entity.

Whatever the case, the two bays are closed off to swimming because of the danger posed to human health.

Unfortunately, these are not isolated incidents. The same two bays suffered from prolonged closure last summer because of sewage contamination.

Suffice to say that a ban on swimming in St George’s Bay was imposed on 18 September and only lifted on 6 October, three full weeks. Similarly, a swimming ban was imposed on Balluta Bay on 19 August and lifted almost a month later on 13 September.

Several other swimming zones in different localities were also affected last summer, raising questions as to the robustness of the sewage network in view of the increased load.

Although some of the problems are the result of illegal dumping of inappropriate waste into the sewage network, we cannot ignore the impact the rapid increase in population over the past decade has had on the network.

To tackle illegal acts, the authorities must take tough action against perpetrators when it is ascertained who they are. Additionally, regulations that stipulate safeguards that should be implemented by commercial establishments to prevent illicit substances such as cooking oil and grease from entering the sewage system, should be enforced.

Illegal acts apart, however, it is increasingly becoming clear that the public sewer system requires several upgrades, especially in localities where the population has increased exponentially.

Malta has invested heavily over the past two decades in new sewage treatment plants to ensure that no untreated sewage is dumped at sea. This resulted in a vast improvement in sea water quality. Indeed, these plants are also producing second-class water that farmers can use for irrigation.

But despite these multi-million euro investments, the country is still experiencing too many sewage spills that are contaminating the seas around us. The most evident are those that happen between May and October when regular sampling of seawater is taken to ascertain that bathing areas are safe. But there are also instances of sea pollution during the rest of the months.

It is high time that the Water Services Corporation takes stock of the situation, identifies the weak spots and invest to upgrade the sewage system to reflect contemporary Malta’s needs. The WSC would do good to emulate Enemalta’s accelerated investment programme in its distribution network after last summer’s power cuts.

In an already crowded country where half a million residents have to battle it out with hundreds of thousands of tourists to find some space to swim on the beaches and rocky coastline, the last thing we need is contaminated waters that further restrict the areas where swimming is possible.

Meanwhile, we await the results of the investigations into the latest sewage contamination in St George’s and Balluta bays and hope that once the problem is identified it is addressed accordingly.

Clarification: The WSC says the sewage outflow in St George's Bay was not caused by a failure in its network. Read the clarification here.