Repairs on the Gozo Sewage plant outfall will get underway in the coming days, the Water Services Corporation has said.
In a statement, the WSC said that the outfall has lost its last 35 metres due to past illegal discharges, limiting its discharge point from around 90 meters to around 40.
WSC CEO Richard Bilocca explained how through this operation, “the Corporation will be overcoming another longstanding challenge that will continue to improve the services it offers,”
He also thanked the teams involved and local port authorities for the extensive support in the coordination of the required works.
The Corporation explained that the repairs, including an improved setup at the plant, will 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 Corporation said.
The project of work will get underway on Wednesday at Boiler Wharf, with highly specialised equipment being loaded on the main barge through which the works will be conducted.
Work on the outfall will then start on Saturday and will take 10 days to complete, the Corporation said. Demobilisation, including diver decompression is expected to take another five days.
It explained that the operation will be undertaken by 18 highly skilled workers including a team of 10 foreign divers.
Equipment will involve one motorised barge, an unmotorised flat barge, and a support tugboat. A saturation system to ensure the safety of the divers will be mounted.
This system includes a bell-like structure that will allow divers to surface from a depth of around 80 meters to enter a decompression chamber.
Also, three container houses, two generator units, and other diving equipment will be loaded on the barge, the WSC said. The heaviest item is the hyperbaric chamber, which weighs 18 tons.
The equipment that is being used will weigh approximately 30 tons. The hyperbaric unit will be the residence of the two highly skilled deep-sea divers for five days, in which they will have all safety equipment and basic amenities/provisions.
More information, including footage of the operation, will be made available in the coming days, the Corporation said.