Wastewater treatment and re-use is increasingly being integrated in the utilisation of water resources in the private industry, especially the hotel industry, FM Environmental (Malta) Ltd said. The eventuality of higher water tariffs and possible introduction of a sewage tax in the near future, has triggered the local hotel industry to invest in wastewater treatment technologies, and these hotels are benefiting from considerable operational cost savings.
The company said that one of these success stories is the five-star Hilton Hotel in Malta, which is recycling wastewater for second class purposes, re-using it for toilet flushings and landscape irrigation among others. The treated wastewater is totally disinfected and treated to the highest standards of applications, and hence safeguarded from any health hazard.
Apart from enhancing a ‘green hotel’ policy, such an investment has resulted in lower first class water consumption bills and hence lower operational costs. In many cases on-site wastewater treatment is being utilised as a cost-cutting tool, especially when one considers that payback periods result to be within sustainable time frames. Ing. Joseph Restall, chief engineer of the Hilton Hotel Malta stated that ‘the installation of an STP at our hotel has proven to be a success in reducing water generation. The water produced is used in irrigation and in the second class water system, saving over 5,000 cubic metres a year. For us this has been a success story, reinforcing Hilton Malta’s commitment to environmental sustainability.’
On a national scale, wastewater treatment in the private industry will reduce the burden on the heavily exploited aquifers and can reduce the demand from the desalination plants, which consume a lot of costly energy.
In order to re-use wastewater, it must be treated to relatively high standards, depending upon the re-use application. On a positive note, small to medium sized wastewater treatment plant technology is available in Malta. FM Environmental (Malta) Ltd is one of the key players in this sector, providing custom designed wastewater treatment technologies. The company was set up in 1998 and has manufacturing premises in Marsa industrial estate. FM Environmental (Malta) Ltd is part of FM Environmental group of Northern Ireland and has over 35 years experience, in the wastewater treatment industry overseas.
The company can offer various treatment technologies depending on the treated water quality required, type of application and site conditions. Such treatment plants occupy very small footprints and can be installed either at basement level, outdoor below or above ground installations. Technologies vary from traditional biological treatment in various forms to the latest innovations in the sector, such as membrane bio-reactor treatment.
Applications can start from single house installations going up to small communities, hotels or any other sites with up to a population of 5,000.