The Sant Antnin plant in Marsacala will be able to filter and treat waste from livestock farms from next month, leading to the production of more 'new water' for irrigation.

The ministries for energy and agriculture said this is part of a €9 million investment for the sustainable disposal of farm waste.

"Thanks to the investment, farmers will soon be able to take farm waste for treatment at the Sant’Antnin plant, easing pressure from the urban sewage infrastructure," the ministries said.

They pointed out that for years, farm waste had been dumped into the sewage system, often blocking pipes.

Some 60 bowser-loads are discharged in this way per week.
 
Thanks to the new investment, using EU funds administered by the Secretariat for European Funds, the  Sant’Antnin plant will treat the waste before it goes to the sewage purification plant at Ta’ Barkat. Ta’ Barkat will thus be able to produce more so-called New Water.

WSC CEO Ivan Falzon explained how the success of a New Water project in 
the north was being replicated in the south, where the preparations and the infrastructural works have been more complex.

“We are addressing two areas: treating farm waste and the production of New 
Water. €2.4 million has been invested in new equipment that offers farmers an alternative method for waste disposal. This will allow such waste to be treated as opposed to it being dumped in the urban sewage infrastructure.”  

This new process will drastically reduce the load on sewage treatment plants while safeguarding the infrastructure and raising New Water production."

In 2020 alone, New Water production increased from .75 m3 to 1.5 million m3 of high-quality water for irrigation.

Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo said that the Water Services Corporation has invested in machinery to treat slurry from farms.  The Government Agricultural Bioresources Agency has also invested in three mobile units that will operate on farms.  

Parliamentary Secretary Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi said that the works on the Sant Antnin plant are being carried out using around €5 million in European funds.