Farming ‘new water’ to increase by 8,000 cubic metres with Ta’ Barkat extension

The production of ‘new water’ – a treated supply of re-used sewage water for farming – is to increase by 8,000 cubic metres per day from the Ta’ Barkat plant, where a €5.3 million extension is planned.

The Xgħajra plant is used to cater for farmers in the southern region of the island, who collect the water from designated collection points at their fields.

The water output is defined as filtered, secondary effluent – sewage that gets treated and polished for re-use at the Ta’ Barkat Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The process consists of a pre-treatment stage where the effluent is ultra-filtrated, and then desalinated by reverse osmosis, and then passed through a post-treatment stage.

As a semi-arid country, Malta is constantly battling the challenge of water scarcity and the pressure of abstraction from its groundwater source.

Since the 1980s, sea-water desalination has provided around 60% of the municipal water supply, becoming an important water resource to ensure the sustainability of Malta’s water supply.

The New Water programme aims at reaching an annual production capacity of 7 million cubic metres of high-quality water that is suitable for safe crop irrigation, addressing 35% of the current total water demand of the agricultural sector.

The three polishing plants are located at Ras il-Ħobż in Għajnsielem, Gozo, taċ-Cumnija in Mellieħa, and Ta’ Barkat – the major plant that produces 9,600 cubic metres per day. The Ċumnija and Gozo plants have a capacity of 6,400 and 3,200 cubic metres per day respectively. These plants can reach a total production volume of 7 million cubic metres per year.

Collectively, the Water Services Corporation treats over 67 million litres of sewage every single day, before it is either re-used or dumped out at sea – that brings it up to 24 billion litres in one year. The main Ta’ Barkat plant actually treats 60,000 cubic metres of sewage every day, which is around 80% of all wastewater in Malta, from the Victoria Lines in the north down to the southern tip. Additionally, it produces 1MW of electricity through biogas.