Fixing a leak: 49% of water produced doesn’t get billed
James Debono The Water Services Corporation failed to bill a massive 49% of the water it produced in 2007 due to “apparent water losses” – a veritable waste of half the energy required to produce water by Reverse Osmosis.
The WSC produced 31m3 of water in 2007, but only 15.6m3 reached households, according to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority’s ‘State of Environment’ report.
The report produced a baffling observation: while the WSC claimed it reduced actual leakages from 8.4m3 in 2004 down to 5.6m3 (-34%), the unaccounted water increased from 15.3m3 to 15.4m3.
This shows the situation has not improved since the last State of the Environment Indicators published in 2005, which had already revealed that half the WSC’s water was not accounted for.
The majority of the discrepancy is attributed to “apparent water losses”, which increased from 6.9m3 in 2004 to 9.7m3 – an increase of 42%. But under-registration, billing errors, and the theft of water are believed to account for the other causes of water loss.
The report recommends a more in-depth analysis of the factors behind the difference between production and consumption, in order to improve efficiency.
While the water loss is diminishing thanks to the control of leakages, this still results in a major loss of revenue for the government. The WSC’s latest annual report states that existing water meters are not registering the full amount of water which is consumed. This was blamed both on ageing mechanical meters whose performance declines with time, and on the widespread use of roof storage tanks which require the use of an “indirect plumbing system” – both factors result in less revenue due to under-registration of water.
A pilot project to replace all water meters in the Gozitan locality of Zebbug resulted in a 10% decrease in “apparent losses”.
Owners of boreholes should pay But MEPA is also calling for the charging of underground water that is being extracted for free from private boreholes, and calls for the re-use of treated sewage which is presently disposed of into the sea.
While government has accepted the need to meter groundwater extraction, it still has not taken any commitment on whether borehole users will start paying for the free use of this water.
The report warns that Malta is becoming increasingly dependent on the conversion of desalinated water, which accounts for 55% of Malta’s public water supply. This comes at a high price: electricity used to desalinate sea water takes up 5% of Malta’s total energy demand.
The report confirms that over-extraction of underground water has contaminated the source due to a “high salt concentration” from sea water intruding the groundwater reserves, forcing the WSC to blend it with desalinated water. “Since sea water intrusion is impacting the ability of Malta’s groundwater resources to meet the needs of the population in terms of water quality, legal measures need to be taken to address the situation.”
MEPA said the re-use of treated sewage could offer a supply of 19.7 million cubic metres of water, which is equivalent to the estimated amount of groundwater used for irrigation.
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