MEP wants urgent action on yearly sewage pollution around Maltese waters

MEP Peter Agius has called for immediate action on sewage outflows into the Maltese coastal waters in an appeal to the European Commission. 

The appeal, which was made on Tuesday during the discussion of a petition presented by Benjamin Mifsud Scicluna on behalf of Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, stressed the ongoing failures in wastewater management that are resulting in sewage discharge contaminating the ocean and repeated beach closures.

The European Commission representative from the Directorate-General for the Environment told MEPs that the latest readings from Maltese seawater indicate a continued breach of EU rules and pledged that the Commission will consider further action.

Agius said that Maltese people have a fundamental right to a clean and safe sea but are increasingly facing contaminated waters and closed bathing sites.

According to Agius, the evidence presented in the appeal pointed to systemic pressures on Malta’s infrastructure, which include overdevelopment and insufficient wastewater treatment capacity, resulting in untreated sewage being discharged into the ocean. 

Concerns were raised about deteriorating water quality, damage to marine ecosystems, and a growing loss of trust in environmental governance, both from Malta and the European Union. 

He also pointed out that despite years of legal action, the situation in Malta has remained largely unchanged, with reports indicating that the problem of polluted seawater has persisted for over a decade. 

In 2024, the Water Services Corporation (WSC) launched a €310 million National Investment Plan aimed at modernising Malta’s water and sewage infrastructure, adding that leaks at the time were determined not to be caused by their own sewage network, but by third-party activities and improper waste disposal by said third parties.

In 2025, at least nine incidents of sewage leaks were reported which led to beach closures across Malta and Gozo, including St Thomas Bay, Qui-Si-Sana, and Font Għadir.

Questions have been sent to the WSC by MaltaToday.

No response has been received at this time.