WAJ asserts ‘high quality’ of drinking water

AMMAN — Drinking water monitoring systems in all regions of the Kingdom are accurate and adhere to the highest international standards, the Water Ministry’s Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) said on Wednesday.

The administration of the water sector, through WAJ laboratories, implements “periodic and strict tests” on all water resources to ensure their high quality and confirm that they deliver clean drinking water to citizens, the ministry said, refuting claims from some media outlets on the low quality of drinking water. 

In a statement sent to The Jordan Times, the ministry said that the water sector’s strategy “adopts the highest public health standards and implements high quality programmes” in monitoring all water resources and seeking to preserve the environment in cooperation with national institutions such as the Health Ministry and the Royal Scientific Society.

The WAJ added that it receives more than 50,000 samples for analysis annually at its central laboratories, and runs more than 15,000 tests to ensure that water conforms to technical standards, the statement said. 

The authority noted that the Kingdom has maintained its No. 1 rank among Arab countries for years in terms of preserving the quality of drinking water, adding that WAJ laboratories are among the “first in the nation” to receive the accreditation of the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) in 2005. 

The WAJ also mentioned attempts by some media outlets to belittle such national achievements, adding that a UKAS team commended the quality of drinking water in Jordan in the latest report of the UK agency, which was issued in May, according to the statement.