Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/952911
12 maltatoday SUNDAY 11 MARCH 2018 News JAMES DEBONO MALTA'S celebrated hydrologist Marco Cremona has been denied a food and safety licence for his ground-breaking water treatment solution, over fears of unknown viruses that cannot yet be tested. The Food Safety Commis- sion denied him a licence for his membrane-based process that turns hotels' waste-water into po- table water for re-use in showers, because of unknown viruses that cannot be tested by present-day safety parameters. The HOTREC system is an award-winning process that ho- tels use to reduce water demand by 85% in bathrooms and swim- ming pools. A frustrated Cremona shared his exasperation on Facebook when he announced he was giv- ing up on the project, railing against the bureaucratic hurdles hindering the ground-breaking project he launched in 2009. Contacted by this newspaper to list the pitfalls for this award- winning project Cremona put it down to "prejudice on the part of authorities who stuck to percep- tions and did not want to discuss the science, and lack of ambition to make the country a world lead- er in the field of water." "Essentially, for me this is the wrong country," Cremona stated. The HOTREC project was one of three finalists for the prestig- ious CNBC/Allianz award for the best green business idea in Eu- rope in 2009, and was nominated for the 2010 Stockholm Water Prize, and featured on BBC, Al Jazeera, France 24 and other in- ternational news stations. It pro- pelled Cremona to be awarded a Republic Day's honour in De- cember 2014 for his outstanding achievements in the water sector in Malta and internationally. Toasted by political leaders, even Labour leader Joseph Mus- cat tested the prototype at the Radisson Golden Sands Hotel in 2009 on the eve of the European elections, where he drank the treated water. Since then, various tests car- ried out over the last decade confirmed that the water from the HOTREC process consist- ently conformed to standards set by the EU Directive and Maltese laws. And in 2012, the European Commission confirmed that the Drinking Water Directive did not prohibit the use of recycled water for drinking purposes, provided relevant quality standards are met – irrespective of the source. But the final death knell for the project was a decision by the Food Safety Commission in Oc- tober 2017. In its decision, the commission ruled that "though the drinking water must satisfy the criteria of EU and local legislation, it should be free from any virulent viruses." The FSC raised its concern on the possible presence of "patho- gens and other chemicals that may have a harmful effect on human health" that are still "un- known and untested by present safety standards." The commission also contends that this can have "adverse effects on the tourism industry", con- cluding that the risks outweigh any benefits "especially when considering that there are cur- rently several alternative sources of water (in Malta)." The commission confirmed an earlier decision taken by the Health Council in 2013 which also ruled out that the use of treated sewage for human con- sumption. Ironically the latest decision coincided with the government's decision to provide free treated sewage to farmers to water their crops. The Water Services Cor- poration is using a treatment process that is almost identical to HOTREC when producing and delivering recycled water to farm- ers. Moreover, a report by the Water Services Corporation in May 2009 considered the production of po- table water from sewage derived from sewage treatment plants as "the most economical solution" for the use of recycled water and refers to a "welcoming response" from health officials. It also refers to similar experiences in Australia and Singapore. The Public Health Department was initially a partner in the HOTREC research project along- side TTZ Bremerhaven from Ger- many and the Island Hotels Group (now IHI). Water samples from the proto- type set up at the Golden Sands hotel in Ghajn Tuffieha were col- lected and tested by the Public Health Department, and found to conform with Maltese legisla- tion and the EU Drinking Water Directive. Following the overwhelming success of the research project, HOTREC Ltd was set up in Feb- ruary 2010 to commercialise the new technology locally and inter- nationally. Cremona's business plan envis- aged three commercial installa- tions in Malta by the end of 2012 and a first international plant by the end of 2013. Subsequently the company was granted funding by Malta Enterprise to build its first commercial installation in Malta. A contract was also signed with the db SeaBank Hotel which ac- cepted to buy and use the recy- cled water, subject to HOTREC Ltd getting a permit from the public health authorities. The plant was installed and commissioned in 2012-2013, and water samples were collected and analysed in independent labora- tories and the water quality found to be excellent. The plant has the capacity to recover 84,000 litres of water a day from treated sew- age effluent. But the Public Health Depart- ment was reluctant in granting a permit, even if it did not spell out any legal or scientific reasons for refusal. Faced by the department's iner- tia, a judicial protest was present- ed by HOTREC in March 2013 on the eve of general elections. The issue was raised with new Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and sub- sequently Health Minister God- frey Farrugia. But in July 2013 the newly created Health Council formally took a decision against granting a permit to the project, citing the "precautionary prin- ciple" and "keeping in mind that there are currently several alter- native sources of water". Further tests by an independent expert engaged by the same pub- lic health department in January 2014 confirmed that the HOTREC process at SeaBank could deliver potable quality water. Then in November 2016, Cremona was invited to deliver a presentation to the Food Safety Commission. But it was only in October 2017 that Cremona was handed the commission's final negative ver- dict. Apart from a few test runs to collect samples for testing and to satisfy requests by international TV stations for filming of features and documentaries, the HOTREC plant was forced to sit it out and deteriorate. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Fear of unknown viruses sinks Cremona's ground-breaking water treatment solution "The authorities did not want to discuss the science and… make the country a world leader in the field of water" An innovative project by eminent hydrologist Marco Cremona that allowed hotels to reduce water demand by 85% was killed by a decision of the Food Safety Commission "Essentially, for me this is the wrong country," Marco Cremona said