These Are The Maltese Bays That Have Been Contaminated By Drainage From May Till Now
Tal-Għażżenin, Balluta Bay, and two St George’s Bays: these are the bays that have been hit with bacterial contaminations between May and now due to both public and private drainage systems.
One of Malta’s main attractions for tourists and locals alike is the sea, especially now that summer is about to start. Hundreds of people flock to the island’s beaches during all hours of the day, and with some being positioned in highly populated areas, regular checks are done to ensure that the water that people are swimming in is safe.
Two weeks ago, Lovin Malta wrote about how the country had registered 24 different contaminations between the start of May and 2nd June. In comparison to earlier years and the number of tests, this number is high.
So we wanted to find out where exactly has been contaminated and why, this is what the Health Ministry told us.
The sites where bathing was not recommended because of risk to public health were as follows:
C23, Tal-Għażżenin SPB from 16th May till 21st May 2024, due to an overflow of foul water.
B03 and B04 San George’s Bay St Julians from 21st May till 2nd June due to high bacterial counts.
B09, Balluta Bay left side St Julians from the 21st May till today because of high bacterial counts
B08, Balluta Bay right side St Julians from 31st May till today because of sewage overflow
A12, St George’s Bay Birżebbuġa from 9th June till today because of sewage overflow.
The Ministry explained that it’s doing its “upmost to monitor bathing water”, saying that it actually goes above and beyond what’s specified in the legal requirements.
“To ensure that our bathing water is fit for bathing we carry out monitoring on a weekly basis which is four times more than what is specified in the bathing water directive requires.”
“The Ministry cooperates with other stakeholders and encourages the cooperation of the public to address issues of public health concern in the shortest timeframe possible.”
A spokesperson further said that the source of the contaminations are coming from both public and private drainage systems and due to various cases like stoppages or damaged systems.
“The sources of pollution are various. Owners of private dwellings are responsible for the private drainage systems and the WSC are responsible for public main sewers.”
Lovin Malta has now reached out to the Water Services Corporation to figure out which of these contaminations were a result of issues within the public drainage systems.
Have these contaminations affected your summer plans?
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