Up to 15% bottled water contaminated: PCRWR

Report says 11 brands unsafe due to presence of chemicals

ISLAMABAD: It is estimated that around 10%-15% of the bottled water available in the country is contaminated and is a serious threat to public health, according to the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR).

“The business of selling bottled water is booming but those involved in this business are openly playing with the life of people. People consider these bottled water brands safe but actually they are not and are even more hazardous than tap water,” said the PCRWR spokesperson while talking to The Express Tribune



The official said since 2002 the PCRWR has been testing the quality of bottled water which is also known as ‘mineral water’ in the market. He said it has been established that 10%-15% of this water is contaminated and contains chemical and microbiological contaminations.

Sharing results of the monitoring report for the October-December 2016 quarter, the spokesperson said 78 samples of bottled water brands revealed that 11 brands were unsafe.

“These brands include Well Care, Lite Aqua, New Premier, Royal Blue, Aqua Safe, Aqua Drink Water, Rahat, Oslo, NG Fresh Water, Nurturmil Water and Aab-e-Khoob among others,” the spokesperson said.

The official said for the purpose of its research, samples of bottled water were taken from many cities like Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Quetta, Peshawar, Muzaffarabad Faisalabad, Sargodha, Multan, Lahore and Tando Jam.

“Some brands contained excessive level of arsenic which causes skin diseases, diabetes, kidney diseases, hypertension, heart diseases birth defects, black foot diseases and multiple types of cancers.  Others contained higher levels of sodium which may cause Cholera, Diarrhea, Dysentery, Hepatitis, Typhoid.”

The spokesperson said the reason why people consume bottled water is to avoid tab water which is 80%-90% contaminated as was revealed in a research last year.

“There are numerous mineral water brands – being sold at various markets especially at roadside kiosk, small shops and bus stations etc – which are highly contaminated,” said the PCRWR spokesperson.

The official said after getting test results from the PCRWR and the Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) has written letters to the concerned authorities at the provincial level to take action against such culprits.

“However, unfortunately people involved in this heinous crime reopen their factories with different names,” the spokesperson added.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27^th, 2017.