Over 22 million litres of water saved after warning customers of leaks

Millions of litres of water were saved in 2017 thanks to over 2,000 letters sent across Malta and Gozo warning customers of possible leakages in their households.

The Water Services Corporation’s engineers and software developers used in-house tools to remotely monitor and flag abnormal levels of consumption.

As a result, the WSC now sends letters to customers with leaks of over 20 litres an hour for two weeks straight.

Assuming an average leak of 30 litres an hour, the amount of water lost to leaks amounts to 21,600,000 litres – the equivalent of over 10 million, two-litre bottles of mineral water.

Not all residents take prompt action, but according to a spokesperson for the WSC, “it is reasonable to assume that owners would be keen to quickly repair leaks that are literally resulting in their money going down the drain.”

A second notice is sent to households who fail to take action.

According to the WSC’s annual report, in 2017 “millions of litres of water were saved from being wasted by going unnoticed by customers, using this initiative.”

2017 also saw over 2,500 home visits related to high consumption or water infiltration from neighbouring premises.

In 2017, 57% of all water produced from the WSC was derived from desalination. The energy required to power up the plants was slightly lower than the previous year, down from 4.85kWh per cubic metre, to 4.76kWh in 2017.

On the other hand, groundwater accounts for 43% of Malta’s drinking water, down from over 50% before 2000. The WSC is embarking on a “net zero impact” project to recharge aquifers and supply polished sewage water to farmers.

The WSC is also producing 1MW a year through its Fiddien solar panel farm.