Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1391768
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 JULY 2021 NEWS CAREER OPPORTUNITY DIRECTOR Jobs Plus Permit No:402/2021 & 403/2021 The Environment & Resources Authority (ERA) is seeking highly motivated individuals to join the management team in the position of a Director for Environment & Resources and a Director for Compliance & Enforcement. The Directors will be responsible for the overall running and management of the respective Directorate within this service-driven organisation and will report to the Chief Executive Officer. These are extremely challenging posts and offer a good remuneration package. The Person: • Strong leadership skills to build organisational capacity and drive operational excellence; • Strong management skills, with the ability to manage multidisciplinary teams; • Strong inter-personal and people-skills with the ability to motivate colleagues; • Pro-active and visible styles of leadership and management, capable of driving change effectively; • Experience of strategy development with result-oriented mind-set; • Ability to generate synergies and collaboration within their teams and among stakeholders. Candidates for the above-mentioned posts must be in possession of the necessary qualifications and experience required by the call. Further information may be obtained on era.org.mt or via the QR code below. Interested candidates are invited to submit their application, together with a detailed Curriculum Vitae via email on vacancies.era@era.org.mt by noon (CET) of Monday 19th July indicating which position they are applying for. For further information, kindly contact: Human Resources Unit Environment and Resources Authority Ref: Directors Email: vacancies.era@era.org.mt JAMES DEBONO MALTA lost 398 cubic metres of water every single hour in 2020, down from 445cb.m in 2019 ac- cording to Water Services Corpo- ration annual data. But it was still a far cry from the staggering 1,020cb.m per hour lost in 2004, making 2020's infrastruc- ture leakage index (ILI) the lowest ever recorded. The ILI for 2020 for the whole of the Maltese Islands was 1.87, sig- nificantly lower than the previous best score of 1.91 in 2015, a drastic reduction in leakages from 2005 when Malta registered an ILI of 4. The WSC considers some of the leakages are unavoidable and not feasible to locate and repair them. Such leakages would amount to 208 cb.m/h, leaving 181cb.m/h that could still be avoided: the equivalent of 90,500 bottles of mineral water. The reduction in leakages comes in the wake of a de- cision to recruit a leakage engineer dedicated to leakage management in every region. All regions regis- tered lower leakage levels this year in comparison with 2019. The WSC has an in-house tool designed to manage, control and attain leakage management tar- gets, which are compiled on a weekly basis. With this tool the WSC has an immediate retrieval of information from all zones within a given region, allowing engineers to concentrate on zones with the highest leakage levels rather than spending valuable time and energy on lower leakages. During 2020 the WSC sent over 6,600 letters to customers warning them of possible leakages in their private networks. 20,000 SMS alerts were also sent out to cus- tomers alerting them to abnormal consumption within their premis- es. In spite of coronavirus-related restrictions, nearly 3,000 home visits related to high consumption or water infiltration from neigh- bouring premises were carried out in 2020, saving "millions of litres of water" from being wasted. And over €700,000 in back-dated consumption that went unbilled due to technical issues were col- lected after an analysis of over 600 accounts. The WSC is now producing 1.5 million cubic metres of 'new wa- ter' – polished and treated sewage water use for agricultural purpos- es – a marked 60% increase over 2019. Nearly hafl was derived from the Mellieħa Ċumnija plant, 786,000cb.m, a significant 90% in- crease over the previous year. The plant now operates on a 24-7 basis. The plant treated 3.2 million cu- bic metres of raw sewage in 2020 and produced 3,600 tons of sludge. Most of the treated effluent is eventually discharged into the sea. Water leakages reduced to lowest ever levels Masrija: more eight- level development JAMES DEBONO THE imposing Masrija development, built on eight levels and which dominates long-distance views from Miżieb and l-Aħrax in Mellieħa, is set to expand by an- other 114 apartments. The extension will take place on a 4,800sq.m plot inside an abandoned quarry complex. This will increase the number of approved apartments in the former quarry site to 418. The extension will also include 196 garag- es on two excavated levels, with a ground floor, six overlying levels, two of which will be receded. Details of the application presented by J. Bonavia Ltd in 2020 emerged from a Pro- ject Development Statement to the Envi- ronment and Resources Authority but the plans are still not accessible on the Planning Authority's website, as the application is deemed to be "incomplete". The ERA has requested photomontag- es from different viewpoints "to provide a clearer impression of the development as seen in the context of its surroundings". ERA noted that the already-existing devel- opments, "impose" over the Miżieb area, a designated Area of High Landscape Value. While the developers claim the proposal will blend within its surrounding develop- ments, ERA is insisting that further assess- ments of its visual impact are needed. The excavation works will generate around 20,400 tons of waste. In 2016 the PA issued a permit to Fort Cambridge developers Gap Ltd for the construction of 152 apartments on another part of the quarry. Another 49 apartments by Best Deal Properties were approved in 2017, and another application for 48 apart- ments was issued to Jason Mifsud.In 2018, a permit for another 55 apartments was is- sued to Paul Vella's Ballut Blocks. This means the PA has already approved 304 apartments on the Masrija site. The approval of the latest application would in- crease the number of apartments to 418. According to the local plan approved in 2006, the height of the buildings in the site should not exceed three floors and a semi-basement. But through the application of the Floor Area Ratio, developers were proposing an eight-storey development. After the election of the Labour govern- ment, a policy was approved banning the use of the FAR mechanism on the site itself, but effectively allowing eight-storey devel- opments on parts of the site. And while the local plan had obliged de- velopers to present one comprehensive ap- plication, they were now allowed to present separate applications. So Gap's application or 152 apartment was filed just two weeks after the PA approved a controversial par- tial review of the area's planning policy, allowing heights of four and five floors all along Ta' Masrija Street, with increased heights of up to seven in other parts. Residents had argued that height restric- tions should be identical to the surround- ing area, which is characterised by two- to-three-storey buildings. Environmental NGOs had warned that the ridge develop- ment was of an excessive height resulting in a "horrible vista" along the Mellieħa bypass, with a detrimental effect on far-reaching views.