The WSC’s third and largest “New Water” polishing plant at ta’ Barkat limits of Xghajra was inaugurated by Minister for Energy & Water management Joe Mizzi during an event held at Fort Rinella.
These plants provide very high-quality water for agriculture, industry, landscaping, and other sectors where drinking water quality levels are not required. The Ta’ Barkat in the south of Malta will produce seven billion litres of New Water annually through this new system.
It will supply farmers and industry in the South of Malta. The first New Water plant in Ic-Cumnija limits of Mellieha was inaugurated in May 2017 and has since provided high-quality water to farmers in the Mellieha, Manikata and Pwales areas.
The second plant was inaugurated in July 2018 in Ras il-Hobz in Gozo to supply water to the farming community in Malta’s sister island. Treated sewage from the Corporation’s three sewage treatment plants that was hitherto discharged to sea is now pumped to new tertiary treatment polishing plants.
These were built with €20 million EU and local funds to take this treated sewage and treat it to very stringent quality standards. Sophisticated additional microfiltration, reverse osmosis and advanced oxidisation processes ensure complete security of the finished product.
Apart from the funds used for the construction of the 3 polishing plants, another €20 million was used to convey this New Water to rural areas through a dedicated infrastructure.
Minister Mizzi briefly addressed the press conference and said that farmers’ take-up of New Water so far is very encouraging and that substantial gains in the yield and quality of local produce have been achieved. He added that Government is determined to continue supporting this vital sector. WSC Chief Executive Officer Richard Bilocca thanked the Corporation’s workforce who over the last few months worked relentlessly to be in a position to reach this very important milestone.
He also explained that detailed plans to expand the current distribution network to cover far larger areas in the south and southwest part of Malta are in hand and tenders will be issued in the coming weeks. The Water Services Corporation has worked on the concept of providing a viable, high-quality alternative to groundwater abstraction for many years.
The fruit of all the research and in-house design and construction by WSC’s technical experts is already helping Malta’s environment and water sustainability.