The Department of Public Health yesterday opened a court case against Water Services Corporation (WSC), holding it responsible for a stoppage in the main sewer in Balluta that caused a sewage leak in the bay.

Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani heard principal health inspector Malcolm Vella Haber give his testimony, saying the bay was declared unfit for bathing after it was found to be contaminated on 13 August, but was yesterday re-opened to the public.

Magistrate Padovani said she will be carrying out an onsite inquiry this morning to ensure that the problem had been cleared completely.

Mr Vella Haber told the court that the Health Department had received complaints about the water quality at Balluta Bay, but WSC had denied that there was any problem.

When health inspectors visited the area on 13 August, together with WSC representatives, they found that “the manholes were filled to the brim with sewage”.

Health inspector John Seychell had poured a green dye into two manholes and a few minutes later, the sea turned luminous green, clearly showing that sewage was actually leaking into the sea.

The department has since been monitoring the situation on a daily basis and Mr Vella Haber told the court that the situation improved considerably, particularly last weekend. The bay has again been declared fit for bathing.

The principal health inspector pointed out that WSC had insisted there was not a problem, when it was clear that the manholes were blocked.

The situation was again monitored on Tuesday, but a WSC representative refused to open up one of the manholes, said Mr Vella Haber, adding that WSC workers had worked both night and day over these past few weeks to try solving the problem.

He said it was evident that the cause of the problem was the main manhole on the edge of the bay that got blocked because the water level in a nearby tunnel was too high.

The Department of Health Department was represented by health inspector manager John Attard Kingswell and Dr Neville Young appeared on behalf of WSC.