Malta’s tap water is safe to drink and is well within the chemical limits set by European Union directives, Energy and Water Management Minister Michael Farrugia told The Malta Independent yesterday.

Farrugia was asked to react to a study that found that exposure to chemicals in Malta’s tap water is linked to almost a fifth of all bladder cancer cases.

“Our water is good to drink,” Farrugia said. “Our tap water is well within the limits set by European directives. The EU sets a number of limits on different chemicals that can be found in water and Malta ranks very in this reagard.”

Farrugia said that government would, nonetheless, keep following all studies that are published but noted that, thanks to EU funds, the government was investing €131 million to improve the taste and chemical content of tap water in Malta. “The principal emphasis here is that our water is in line with EU directives.”

The study, led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, has found that Malta has the second-highest amount of what it called “unintended consequences of water disinfection” or what is scientifically referred to as trihalomethanes (THMs).

The THMs in Malta were revealed to be 49.4 μg/L – only second to Cyprus at 66.2 μg/L.

The Water Services Corporation has said that there is no cause for concern as Malta’s water never exceeds the 100 µg/litre THM limit set by the EU.

The study was published last week in the US journal Environmental Health Perspectives. It uses data from 2005 to 2018 to cover 75% of the EU’s population.

The researchers found that exposure to bladder cancer as a result of the chemicals could be reduced by almost 18% if exposure is reduced.

Malta uses a blend of groundwater and desalinated seawater. Groundwater is extracted from the water table while desalinated water is extracted from deep shore wells and is converted into drinking water through a process carried out at a number of Reverse Osmosis plants.

The two different water types are then blended and stored in reservoirs. The production, transfer and storage of water is controlled and monitored from the control room based at Luqa.

The water is disinfected using a small amount of chlorine, which kills any remaining bacteria. 

Samples are collected form reservoirs before the water is pumped into the distribution system. Random tests are also carried out in households.