On Monday, Parliament began discussing the recurrent and capital expenditure estimates for the Water Services Corporation for 2006-2007.

Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt pointed out that, although often ignored, water is vital to development. He said that the advancement of a country is linked to its ability to provide good quality water, observing that when, in the past, citizens had problems with getting water at home, let alone good water, Malta went through economic difficulties.

Dr Gatt also confirmed that the WSC will remain a state monopoly, and that as such he expects the corporation to produce water that is up to EU standards, as cheaply as possible.

WSC costs for the financial year are expected to reach Lm22.2 million in recurrent outlays and Lm11.6 million in capital expenditure. Of the capital expenditure, 55 per cent is expected to be invested in the production of potable water, and the other 45 per cent will literally go to fund the various wastewater projects. Of the latter amount, the EU will be providing 55 per cent of the funds.

Dr Gatt said he was delighted with the regime of efficiency that has taken over the WSC and is illustrated by the fact that, in the 2005-2006 period, the corporation reduced operating costs by Lm1.2 million, losses by Lm2 million, and the government subsidy by Lm3 million, enabling the government to channel the latter into social services and education.

The minister also spoke about the integration of Malta Desalination Services (MDS) into the WSC. He mentioned how the government had mooted the possibility of privatising MDS, but with substantial help from the EU, and through investment from the WSC, machinery and membranes had been updated. After integration, the cost of production of water is on a par with that offered by the multinational corporations that had expressed an interest in taking over MDS.

The targeted Infrastructural Leakage Index (ILI) was next on Dr Gatt’s list. A measure of how much water is lost between the pumping stations and people’s homes, last year’s ILI ranged between 3.5 and 2.8, against an international threshold of 1.6. Dr Gatt explained how an ILI of 1.6 had been achieved in Gozo years ago, and said that this should be reached in Malta during this year.

Tracing the performance of the corporation over the past few years,the minister showed how, between 2005 and 2007, production costs in the drinking water section had fallen by Lm0.5 million, whereas in the wastewater division they had fallen by Lm1.5 million. “And this notwithstanding wage increases… and investment wherever needed,” he said. In fact, Dr Gatt pointed out that between 2003 and 2007, the WSC had increased capital expenditure by Lm9.3 million, without recourse to bank loans which, in the same period, have fallen by Lm4.3 million.

The corporation has also shed some 375 workers through transfers to other government departments and natural attrition, and plans, after a period of notification, to likewise further reduce its wastewater workforce.

New services over the last four years amounted to 20,000, averaging 11 new installations a day. Forty-five kilometres each of new mains and sewage pipes were laid, and 300km of mains pipes and 14km of sewage pipes have been replaced.

Dr Gatt outlined the main projects to be undertaken by the WSC in the near future. He referred to the EU-funded storm water project, which will attempt to address the problem in a holistic, nation-wide manner, and a plan of which will be ready by the end of the year.

He said that by 2008, Malta will have three new plants which will treat sewage before it reaches the sea. The first, in Gozo, will be ready by August and will cost E7.7 million, 51 per cent of which will come from the EU. The second, at Ic-Cumnija near Mellieha, will cost E11.2 million and will be funded entirely by the Italian Protocol, and will start operating a month later. The third, and largest, will be in Ta’ Bakrat, between Ricasoli and Xghajra, and will handle 80 per cent of Malta’s sewage output, from Mosta southwards.

Part of the project will also include the excavation of a tunnel between Marsa and the plant. The tunnel will cost E7.4 million, which will be partly met by the EU, and will be completed between June and September 2008. The plant itself will carry a tag of e70 million, and is expected to start functioning by the end of 2008.

The metering system is also to be overhauled, and will be replaced by an Integrated Utilities Business System (IUBS) which will permit the WSC to centrally monitor water meters, and to introduce per-second metering as well as split tariffs.

PN Whip Mario Galea picked up on losses, and pointed out that producing water that is lost in the system still required energy, and hence the reduction of losses will also benefit the environment. He also gave some figures that put the ILI in perspective. Losses in 1995 amounted to 3,900m3 per hour, or an ILI of over 10. In 2006 the seepage had been cut to 590m3, corresponding to an ILI of 2.6.

His counterpart and MLP spokesman on the WSC Joe Mizzi, hosed down the government’s idyllic picture, claiming that several politically motivated promotions and other irregularities had taken place at the corporation. Worse, he lambasted the government’s claims that the WSC was providing safe water.

Mr Mizzi claimed that the water supplied by the corporation is laced with nitrates, chlorides, chromium, cyanide and fluorides. As proof, he mentioned the minutes of a particular board meeting of the WSC – on which he had been previously attacked – and also the website of the Malta Resources Authority, which Mr Mizzi quoted as saying that the quality of water had deteriorated.

Mr Mizzi also questioned the government as to why the quality of sea-water in Grand Harbour and in Xghajra – where people from Cottonera habitually swim – is not tested for contamination. He also criticised the quality of the irrigation water being produced by the Sant’ Antnin sewage treatment plant, which he claimed is ruining the very soil it is supposed to irrigate, due to its poor quality.

He criticised the government’s storm water project, describing it as “a road for the water to run off to the sea”. Mr Mizzi said that government should have channelled the water into reservoirs, or it should have cleaned the British-built water galleries at Ghar il-Kbir, which would have provided a more efficient solution.

Mr Mizzi ended by criticising Dr Gatt’s figures. If the price of oil today is more or less at the level it was at when the government introduced the surcharge at 17.5 per cent, said the Labour whip, how come today it is at 45 per cent? “With all the efficiency that was boasted about today, the surcharge should then stand at less then 17.5 per cent!” he exclaimed.

The last to speak was Joseph Abela, MLP spokesman on social security and cooperatives. He appealed to the public to appreciate what a fragile resource water is, and said that people should take care of it and use it judiciously. Mr Abela also criticised the indiscriminate drilling of boreholes, which have caused irreparable contamination and damage to the water table. He suggested that the WSC should dedicate a part of its budget to educating the public on the appreciation of water. Mr Abela also criticised the lack of plans to store and use storm water.