About 500 cubic metres of sludge and secondary-treated water leaked from the emergency pipeline of the Moni sewage treatment plant in Limassol on 5 August after a valve in its sand filter system failed, Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou said.
In a written reply to a question from parliament member Michalis Paraskevas, Ioannou attributed the leak to an unforeseen fault. The secondary-treated water had not gone through the sand filtration or chlorination stages.
The reply put the duration of the leak at about two and a half hours, giving the times as 3.30pm to 6.30pm. Once the problem was spotted, plant staff adjusted the control system to limit the outflow and then repaired the fault.
The communities of Moni and Monagroulli had brought in divers, who filmed the leak from the pipelines in the sea off Moni. Omega TV broadcast the footage.
Samples of the leaked liquid and sludge were sent to a private laboratory for analysis. According to reports at the time, the results showed the presence of coliform bacteria and enterococci.
The leak drew complaints from the affected communities and from swimmers.
