Polluters pardoned once again as no fines issued for Qui-Si-Sana contamination

A Sliema establishment that contaminated the swimming area at Qui-Si-Sana is the latest private premises to pollute a public area and face no form of enforcement. 

On 18 June, the Environmental Health Directorate (EHD) issued a warning after foul water was found percolating into the sea, posing a potential risk to swimmers' health. 

Officials from the directorate and the Waste Water Unit within the Water Services Corporation (WSC) investigated the case and swiftly traced the source of the leak to a nearby establishment. 

Despite identifying the source of the contamination, no government entity took action against the polluter, as similar cases of pollution continue to go unpunished. 

A spokesperson for the Health Ministry, which the EHD falls under, stated that legal action is only taken if the operator of the establishment fails to comply with the notice issued by the directorate or does not carry out the necessary works within the stipulated timeframe. 

“In this particular case, swift corrective action was taken to remove the blockage, with the assistance of the Waste Water Unit of the WSC, under the supervision of EHD officials,” the spokesperson explained. The area was eventually deemed safe for swimming. 

Just a few days before summer began, a restaurant had contaminated part of Marsaskala’s St Thomas Bay. The restaurant faced no charges, despite discharging foul water into the sea via a rainwater culvert. 

Last year, a hotel in St Julian’s was let off scot-free despite contaminating St George’s Bay with sewage. The hotel’s private sewage connection had been accidentally discontinued, resulting in drainage seeping into the rocks and entering the locality’s stormwater system. 

Similarly, just a stone’s throw away in Balluta Bay, the beach was consistently flagged for the presence of E. coli and I. enterococci bacteria—germs typically associated with sewage. Nonetheless, no one was held accountable for the persistent contamination.