Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1521091
11 EDITORIAL maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 22 MAY 2024 THE public health authorities have banned swimming in St George's Bay and Balluta Bay because of harmful bacterial contaminants in the sea. The cause of the pollution is undoubtedly untreated sewage making its way into the sea. The source, however, is being investigated. It is unclear at this stage whether the contami- nation was the result of damage to the public sewers or direct discharge into the sea by a private entity. Whatever the case, the two bays are closed off to swimming because of the danger posed to human health. Unfortunately, these are not isolated inci- dents. The same two bays suffered from pro- longed closure last summer because of sewage contamination. Suffice to say that a ban on swimming in St George's Bay was imposed on 18 September and only lifted on 6 October, three full weeks. Similarly, a swimming ban was imposed on Balluta Bay on 19 August and lifted almost a month later on 13 September. Several other swimming zones in different localities were also affected last summer rais- ing questions as to the robustness of the sew- age network in view of the increased load. Although some of the problems are the re- sult of illegal dumping of inappropriate waste into the sewage network, we cannot ignore the impact the rapid increase in population over the past decade has had on the network. To tackle illegal acts, the authorities must take tough action against perpetrators when it is ascertained who they are. Additional- ly, regulations that stipulate safeguards that should be implemented by commercial estab- lishments to prevent illicit substances such as cooking oil and grease from entering the sew- age system, should be enforced. Illegal acts apart, however, it is increasingly becoming clear that the public sewer system requires several upgrades, especially in local- ities where the population has increased ex- ponentially. Malta has invested heavily over the past two decades in new sewage treatment plants to ensure that no untreated sewage is dumped at sea. This resulted in a vast improvement in sea water quality. Indeed, these plants are al- so producing second-class water that farmers can use for irrigation. But despite these multi-million euro invest- ments, the country is still experiencing too many sewage spills that are contaminating the seas around us. The most evident are those that happen between May and October when regular sampling of seawater is taken to ascer- tain that bathing areas are safe. But there are also instances of sea pollution during the rest of the months. It is high time that the Water Services Cor- poration takes stock of the situation, identi- fies the weak spots and invest to upgrade the sewage system to reflect contemporary Mal- ta's needs. The WSC would do good to em- ulate Enemalta's accelerated investment pro- gramme in its distribution network after last summer's power cuts. In an already crowded country where half a million residents have to battle it out with hundreds of thousands of tourists to find some space to swim on the beaches and rocky coastline, the last thing we need is contam- inated waters that further restrict the areas where swimming is possible. Meanwhile, we await the results of the inves- tigations into the latest sewage contamination in St George's and Balluta bays and hope that once the problem is identified it is addressed accordingly. The sewage network needs an upgrade maltatoday MaltaToday, MediaToday Co. Ltd, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EXECUTIVE EDITOR: KURT SANSONE EDITOR: PAUL COCKS Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 Website: www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt ment plant in Mqabba. Just this week, Robert Abela boasted that the government had found a solu- tion to the matter. The reality is that this government has, for over a decade, sent the wrong messag- es including through the constant uprooting of trees. On 8 June, people have the op- portunity to send a clear message and start a wave of change that will lead to better environmental standards in Malta. On Tuesday, St George's Bay was declared unfit for bathing, due to the detection of microbiological contamination, specifically E. coli and I. enterococci