Potable water in Malta is provided through two main sources namely, groundwater extraction and seawater desalination. The quality of the former is not as good as the latter, so in order to ensure that EU and local health standards are met, the water from these two sources is blended so as to provide a good quality mix according to the aforementioned requirements. The current annual demand is in the region of 34 million m³ per year, of which approximately 60% is produced from the three main Reverse Osmosis plants at Pembroke, Lapsi and Cirkewwa.

Malta is obliged to respect the parametric levels set out by the EU Drinking Water Directive (Dir 98/83/EC). In its drive to improve water quality the high level of groundwater extraction cannot be realistically sustained for a number of reasons. Continued high levels of extraction will negatively affect the long-term sustainability of the water table and will definitely jeopardize Malta’s chances of achieving its commitments as stipulated in the water quality acquis. The only viable alternative to improve water quality is, therefore, to invest heavily in seawater desalination to provide superior water quality with a higher blending potential.

In 2003, the WSC submitted an application for EU assistance for the co-funding of a project entitled “Drinking Water Quality Project – Malta” (DWQP) under the ERDF, Malta Objective 1 Programme 2004-2006.

By means of state-of-the-art equipment installed in the Reverse Osmosis plants, aims to:

• Increase the production capacity of the RO Plants
• Improve the quality of desalinated water
• Decrease the energy utilized to desalinate sea water
• Decrease the reliance on groundwater

The proposals submitted by WSC were accepted and funding of 6 million Euros was obtained under the structural funds.

Special new membranes which are the heart of any reverse osmosis system, will increase the production capacity of the RO plants from 70,000 m³/day to 97,000 m³/day. The electricity consumption is also expected to decrease markedly, resulting in an annual saving of approximately 13 million units. This is mainly attributed to the installation of highly efficient pumping and innovative energy recovery devices procured under this EU funded project.

The table below highlights the improvements to be achieved upon completion of this project.

N.B.  Figures above are at full operating capacity.

This project will not only enable the Water Services Corporation to achieve national obligations, but also meet increasing public awareness and consumer demands. The WSC is expected to start reaping the benefits of this investment towards the end of 2007.