During 2009 the Water Services Corporation repaired 19,145 potable water pipes. Over 95 per cent of the instances involved water services, with the rest involving water mains.
Answering a parliamentary question by Anthony Agius Decelis (PL), Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said the possibility of water contamination in such instances was very small, because the outgoing water pressure did not allow extraneous material to enter the pipes. When a service was completely changed, the new pipes were flushed out with chlorine before being connected to the existing network.
Chlorine was also used when water mains were repaired or new ones installed.