Leaky pipes would fill 1,600 pools each year

The water lost through leaky pipes would fill about 1,600 Olympic-sized swimming pools every year, but this was far below what was wasted in the 1990s.
A report on national water production and consumption, published by the National Statistics Office earlier this month, shows Malta is losing between 10 and 14 per cent of its water production every year because of cracks and leaks in the network. That is the equivalent of about four million cubic litres of water flushed down the drain every year.
Hydrologist Marco Cremona said that although the figure might sound shocking, it actually showed the authorities were taking the matter seriously.
“This is well within the acceptable levels that we were calling for years ago. When the problem was first highlighted in the 1990s we were losing 40 and even 50 per cent of our water. Now the problem is much smaller,” he said.

Dr Cremona said the Water Services Corporation had been hard at work to address the problem and their efforts were bearing fruit.
In fact, it was now at the point where further improvements would probably only see marginal gains. This, he added, meant the volume being lost was within acceptable parameters.
“Of course,...