Works to repair the Gozo sewage plant outfall will take place over the next few weeks, the Water Services Corporation announced on Monday. 

The underwater outfall at Ras il-Ħobż, close to Mġarr ix-Xini, was installed in 1998 but had lost its final 35 metres due to illegal discharges in the past, limiting its discharge point from around 90 metres to around 40. 

The popular dive spot has been plagued with sewage problems for years, with divers regularly reporting murky discharge flowing freely into the sea. 

The WSC said the repairs, announced last year, would include an improved setup at the plant and would ensure optimal environmental performance.

"Over and above this, a state of the art recently patented diffuser will also be installed. The works will incur a cost of around half a million euro," the WSC said.

MEP Roberta Metsola had pushed for the issue to be resolved last January, asking the European Commission whether it was aware of the problem.

Works will begin on August 24 and take 10 days, with 18 highly skilled workers, including a team of 10 foreign divers, involved in the operation. 

The works will also include a bell-like structure that will allow divers to surface from a depth of around 80 meters to enter a decompression chamber, and an 18-ton hyperbaric chamber which will house two highly skilled deep-sea divers for five days, with all safety equipment and basic amenities.

WSC CEO Richard Bilocca said that, through the operation, "the Corporation will be overcoming another longstanding challenge that will continue to improve the services it offers". 

Times of Malta first reported on sewage problems in the area as far back as October 2013, with divers reporting a plume of thick waste spewing out of a broken underwater pipe.

While the area is well beyond the authorised bathing zone, hordes of divers flock to the sheltered coastal stretch, which is known for its three scuttled wrecks and an old anchor.