Purified water retailers urged to commit to health standards

AMMAN — The Ministry of Health on Wednesday urged retailers selling purified water not to store it under direct sunlight or use old containers. 

The ministry closed down 75 shops selling drinking water last year due to breaches of public safety laws and regulations, said Bashir Qasir, the head of the ministry’s healthcare department. 

After collecting and inspecting samples of water at the shops, the ministry also issued warnings to 886 retailers and fined another 127, Qasir noted.

“The majority of Jordanians rely on water purification shops for their drinking water, so there are strict laws and regulations that govern the work of the water stores to ensure they are selling people safe and clean water that meets our local standards,” Qasir said.

He made the remarks during a one-day workshop on water purification shops organised by the chemical scientific committee at the Jordan Engineers Association.

Qasir underscored that the Health Ministry is the only agency authorised to issue licences for new water shops and is also tasked with collecting and inspecting water samples from the shops.

“A total of 43 water samples were collected from each water purification store across the country during the past year,” he said, noting that the ministry’s technical teams had collected and inspected 48,200 samples of water. 

The official noted that there are 1,600 water purification stores in the country, highlighting that the ministry has a strict inspection and monitoring programme specifically for shops selling water.

“Water can be a way for transmitting diseases, and since a huge number of Jordanians rely on such shops for their drinking water, inspecting the water quality at the stores is among the ministry’s top priorities,” Qasir said.

When collecting water samples from the stores, the ministry carries out microbiological, physical and chemical tests, according to the official, who added that the ministry constantly raises the awareness of owners of water stores before issuing a warning.

“We call on owners of water purification plants to stop wrong practices, including storing and distributing water canisters under direct sunlight, using old and deteriorated plastic water canisters and hiring illegal guest workers,” Qasir said.

Following a 1998 water pollution crisis, people lost trust in the quality of drinking water and turned to water purification plants, and bottled water as an alternative.

Despite a drop in the number of complaints on the quality of drinking water in the capital and although the Water Authority of Jordan and the Jordan Water Company (Miyahuna) constantly assure people about the safety of tap water, residents still avoid drinking from the tap and prefer bottled water.