Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/803478
10 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 MARCH 2017 News Hondoq RO plant meant to improve water quality Naxxar home will have negative visual impact: assessment JAMES DEBONO THE Water Services Corporation is claiming that a new reverse os- mosis (RO) plant at Hondoq ir- Rummien in Gozo is needed to provide good quality water meet- ing EU standards, when past re- ports by the WSC showed that the Ta' Cenc groundwater polishing plant already achieved that same aim. The reactivation of the RO plant in Gozo is necessary to enable Go- zo to meet EU standards on water quality, the WSC said, something which according to the corpora- tion's own annual reports had al- ready been achieved in 2005. EU funds were allocated for the construction of a polishing plant at Ta' Cenc, which purifies ground- water to further improve its qual- ity to EU standards. But in January 2017, the WSC submitted a planning application to reactivate the abandoned de- salination plant built in Hondoq ir-Rummien in the 1960s, prompt- ing concern by the Environment Resources Authority that the de- velopment may increase noise pol- lution in the area. Tap water in Gozo currently consists of a blend of groundwa- ter polished in a plant in Ta' Cenc (77%), and reverse osmosis water imported from the Cirkewwa plant (23%) via a submarine pipeline. To achieve this aim, the WSC wants to increase the proportion of RO water in Gozo's water sup- ply to reduce the proportion of polished groundwater extracted for the drinking water supply. The WSC claims to have two choices to achieve this aim: either to increase the production capac- ity of the Cirkewwa RO plant or to reactivate the Hondoq plant. The first option is being dis- carded because this would require the replacement of the submarine pipeline, something that would in- volve "extensive excavation works on Comino because the pipeline passes over its surface". Statistics provided to MaltaTo- day show that there has not been any significant increase in water demand in Gozo in the last 10 years. During these 10 years, the bulk of the water (77-83%) was pro- vided by the polishing plant. Be- fore 2004, Gozo used unpolished groundwater extraction for its wa- ter supply. Hydrologist questions justification for plant When contacted by MaltaTo- day, hydrologist and Malta Water Association executive member Marco Cremona, questioned the justification for the new RO plant at Hondoq. "The claim by WSC that a new RO is needed to improve the qual- ity of the water being supplied in Gozo raises suspicions that the polishing plant at Ta' Cenc is de- livering water that does not meet EU drinking water standards," he said. Cremona remarked that the country was yet again invest- ing millions of euros in water in- frastructure "in the absence of a holistic national water plan and therefore is doing so in the dark". "The water plan was meant as the most important deliverable of this administration, but – four years on – we have not seen anything," he added. Gozo should already have good quality water The Water Services Corpo- ration's annual report in 2005 claimed that following the com- missioning of the polishing plant in 2004, "all the groundwater in Gozo will be either polished or blended with polished water, resulting in a product meeting EU drinking wa- ter regulations parameters." The report stated that the pol- ishing plant "will produce 4,000 cb.m/day of extremely good qual- ity water which, when blended with other groundwater sources, will improve the overall quality considerably." In 2004, then investments min- ister Austin Gatt had announced that the opening of the water pol- ishing plant at Ta' Cenc would enable Gozo to become the first area of Malta where water quality would reach EU standards. But a spokesperson for WSC now claims that a new RO plant is needed at Hondoq ir-Rummien to improve water quality as required by the European Commission. In 2014, a contract was award- ed to the GTE joint venture for €4,155,056 for the laying of a new water pipe, starting at Ta Cenc where the polishing plant is lo- cated and ending near Hondoq ir-Rummien where the abandoned desalination plant is located. On that occasion, the WSC claimed that the works were aimed at enlarging the diameter of wa- ter pipes transporting water from Hondoq – where the water from Cirkewwa is pumped – to the Ta' Cen reservoirs in a bid to improve the corporation's carbon footprint. ERA warns of noise pollution risk The plant, already covering a site of 3,300sq.m in a protected Natura 2000 site, will be repaired for its renewed use. It will produce 5,000 cb.m of wa- ter on a daily basis, although it will also cause the discharge of back- wash water into the nearby sea from an outfall. The Environment and Resources Authority has warned that the de- velopment may lead to possible impacts on the Special Area of Conservation, mainly due to pos- sible disturbance of seabirds due to noise and light emissions. The en- vironmental impact of the project will be assessed in an Appropriate Assessment (AA). The RO plant is expected to operate non-stop, which means a substantial level of continuous noise will be generated by the ma- chinery in use. ERA has asked the Water Servic- es Corporation to provide it with details of the effluent, which will be generated by the plant. Studies will also assess the potential im- pact of the release of briny water on Posidonia Oceania meadows. Replying to questions by Na- tionalist MP Chris Said, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that the Qala local council had already been informed of plans to reacti- vate the desalination plant, claim- ing that this was being done to "improve water quality." Hondoq ir-Rummien has been in the news in the last decade because of a proposal to develop the area into a full-blown tourist village. The proposal was met with op- position by environmental groups and residents, and the application was refused on environmental grounds. Hondoq ir-Rummien was also awarded the Beach of Quality status in 2016, moving it one step closer to Blue Flag status. It remains to be seen whether the construction of an RO plant at Hondoq would affect this certifica- tion. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt A proposed old people's home in Naxxar will have a "major nega- tive" impact on the landscape character of the area where it is being proposed, environmental impact studies conclude. This is because the development "will introduce a large, modern building to a site where there is currently a relatively inconspicu- ous, one-storey structure which is largely screened by mature trees". The Environment Planning Statement includes photomon- tages showing a marked impact on views from Triq San Gwann in Gharghur and from Triq M.A. Murray in Naxxar. But the de- velopment will be slightly vis- ible from Triq Ghaxqet l-Ghajn in Gharghur. The visual impact is partly mitigated by a landscaping plan. The proposed nursing home is set to accommodate 234 beds, on a site on the edge of the Naxxar Ur- ban Area, which lies Outside the Development Zone (ODZ). The nursing home will be 12 metres away from the Mithna tal- Laqx. But the studies conclude that it is unlikely that vibrations during construction will have any impact on the mill's structural in- tegrity. A farm complex, part of which has been demolished, previously occupied the site. The impact on geological re- sources is also considered to be hugely negative since it involves the extraction of 16,870 m3 of rock and the removal of 743 m3 of soil. The site where the nursing home is proposed covers an area of ap- proximately 4,748 m2 and in- cludes an unoccupied, derelict farm dwelling surrounded by disturbed land characterised by "demolition debris and other dumped rubbish overgrown with vegetation in part". A number of mature cypress and Casuarina trees are also found within the site, at the entrance to the dwell- ing, on Triq Gharghur. The applicant (GAP Holdings) justifies the location due to its proximity to existing medical fa- cilities and good road links. The report also claims that in 2015 ap- proximately 20,000 persons were on the government's waiting list for a place in a residence for the elderly, with the biggest majority being in the northern and central regions of Malta. Moreover although being ODZ the development will be in close proximity to the centre of the set- tlement of Naxxar, being 390 me- tres from Naxxar parish church, thus conforming to official cri- teria aimed at ensuring that the elderly continue to remain con- nected to the community. The EIA report concludes that although the project would in- crease traffic, it would not have a negative impact on air quality. The Traffic Impact Assessment concludes that the project would generate an average of 455 daily car trips. Photomontage showing view of old people's home from 1) Triq San Gwann in Gharghur and 2) from Triq M.A Murray in Naxxar