The Water Services Corporation (WSC) is intent on producing one uniform quality of water across Malta within the coming months, WSC CEO Karl Cilia told The Malta Independent on Sunday.

Cilia had previously stated that Malta's tap water is good for drinking, but that "the taste is subjective". He has also spoken about the WSC working on establishing a one-quality-zone so that the taste and quality of water are the same around the country.

With that in mind, The Malta Independent on Sunday asked him to clarify why certain areas of the country may experience varying tap water quality levels.

Malta, he said, has various sources from where water is ultimately received by the people through the network. He explained that residents living near reverse osmosis plants could receive water directly from these sources, resulting in very high water quality. Those who live far from the reverse osmosis plants would not be able to benefit from that direct feed, and so the quality of their water would be different.

Cilia said that in the past, Malta had eight or nine quality zones. People living in certain areas like Pembroke, Swieqi or San Gwann would get their water directly from reverse osmosis plants. Those living further away from such plants, such as in localities like Marsaxlokk, Zejtun or Ghaxaq would not be able to get their water in the same direct way.

Cilia explained that the point where water enters your system from the network impacts its quality. He continued that the WSC's idea is to bring all the reverse osmosis water to the central part of Malta in reservoirs, maximise the blending potential via artificial intelligence and then deliver the water to the public.

The WSC wants to deliver one uniform quality of water in Malta. He said that the quality has been improving yearly, and chlorine and chloride levels were reduced by 30% in 2023. He continued that the WSC is working on a project to offer a one-quality-zone in Gozo, with the same being done for Malta. "In the coming months, we will be discussing and revealing more innovative projects like this," he added.

On the matter of AI, Cilia said that the WSC sees great potential in its utility. As part of the National Investment Plan, it had declared that it is investing €1m in AI, which will be used for smart metering, forecasting and distinguishing losses or theft of water.

The topic of conversation shifted to the matter of water demand, as the WSC had stated in September that there was a record 36.7 million cubic metres of water produced to meet the increase in demand.

He said that 65% of Malta's water comes from reverse osmosis, with the remaining 35% coming from groundwater abstraction. He continued that the manner in which water is produced in Malta means that 65% is our own and is very pure, while the water extracted from the land "has many nutrients". He commented that the WSC maximises the blending potential and then distributes by gravity.

He remarked that in the past years, the WSC has worked to increase reverse osmosis and decrease abstraction to focus on sustainability and allow the aquifer to replenish while also improving the quality of water.

Regarding the increase in demand and what is spurning it forward, Cilia said that it is twofold, with one aspect being the economic growth Malta has experienced, and the other stemming from the WSC being more effective and efficient in its billing.

Cilia was asked whether he expects demand to continue rising significantly and if he believes the WSC is prepared to handle that growth.

He replied that the National Investment Plan of the WSC is set for the next 10 years and was approved by the European Union Commission due to the finances being co-financed by the EU. "We basically made a forecast, and obviously I can't tell you if the water will increase next year or not, but we made a forecast pattern with an expert from the industry for 10 years."

The WSC's National Investment Plan 2023-2033 consists of a €310.5m total investment, with €126m or 41%, co-financed by the European Union. Some of the key projects of the investment plan include 100km of water network upgrades, reservoir renovations, RO plant upgrades and wastewater infrastructure improvements.

He continued that reverse osmosis and wastewater treatment plants were expanded, and that the investments in place for the next 10 years will meet future demand that the WSC believes the country will need. "With this national investment plan, we are catered for the next 10 years plus."

Considering the record amount of water which has been produced, The Malta Independent on Sunday asked the WSC CEO how much water is lost or stolen, and how those losses are identified.

Cilia replied that lost or stolen water is marked as "non-revenue water". He said that in 2011, the WSC was 52% efficient, meaning that 52% of the water produced that year was being billed. He continued that nowadays, that rate is 72%, "meaning that we are improving year-on-year in terms of network efficiency". He commented that this tides with the record billing year-on-year which has led to record profits and, in turn, record investment.

Moving to another topic, Cilia was asked about the new water scheme, specifically how farmer eligibility is determined and whether there is a fixed amount of water that each farmer can access. He answered that he always likes to say that new water is a "work in progress".

He explained that in 2016 and 2017, farmers were initially hesitant, believing that the water, sourced from sewage treatment, wouldn't be suitable for farming. However, attitudes shifted once farmers began using the new water and found it to be of high quality.

Cilia commented that the WSC's narrative was to urge farmers not to do groundwater abstraction and instead let the WSC do it more effectively in return for new water.

He spoke of past issues with the new water scheme being abused through the previous token-based system which meant that farmers could acquire a card with a set amount of units of water. He said that this system was "abused left, right and centre" and that it is a "dog-eat-dog world out there when it comes to farming".

The WSC CEO detailed that water comes from sewage, and so the amount of new water that can be produced depends on what is available from the system considering Malta's limited resources. He remarked that it is very important that the water produced is distributed as well as possible.

He described the new methodology being utilised in the new water scheme to prevent abuses. He said that this new system is to produce water and bring it to dispensers, of which he said around 500 new ones have been installed with some already being used. Regarding the water in the dispensers, he added that the WSC will not control the distribution of new water; instead, an agreement has been established with the Ministry for Agriculture to manage this, which means that every farmer who wants to make use of the scheme needs to register their crop plan and how much land they have with the Ministry, and then it will pass on the equivalent cubic metres of water to the farmers based on its formula.

"The system is intelligent, meaning that if it is discovered that someone is trying to exploit or bypass the dispenser, it would be detected and that service could be suspended in real-time. This is something that we are doing to ensure that the water is arriving where it needs to arrive and prevent exploitation of the system. We believe that with this new system, we will be tackling the abuse problem. Last year we produced 1.6 million cubic metres of new water, which is a record."

Cilia emphasised throughout the interview that Malta, as a small country with limited resources, faces challenges that require efficient solutions to overcome. "Malta is a small country without resources. It does not rain, we do not have lakes, and so we have to procure our own water. Although we are a country without resources, we have managed to achieve more with fewer resources. We try to be as efficient as possible to minimise losses."

He concluded by saying that although demand has increased and is going up, network efficiency has improved, with leakage rates decreasing significantly and being notably lower in comparison to other countries.