A random visit reveals the filthy conditions inside one of the water bottling plants in Jeddah despite claims by the municipality that all such plants undergo strict hygiene checks. — Okaz photo Ibrahim Al-Qirbi Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – Many consumers have expressed their worries about the quality of water some water bottling plants deliver to customers. There are many of these plants in north and south Jeddah. Some of them do not comply with hygienic standards of water filtration. The water these plants produce amid the absence of inspection by pertinent authorities ends up in our homes and we drink it, not knowing whether it is safe or not. Surprisingly, the Jeddah Mayoralty's media center stressed that all Jeddah water-purifying plants undergo strict health and hygiene standards to ensure that they provide customers with purified water. The center added that all plants comply with these standards and those that do not get named and shamed in newspapers. But the reality at some plants tells another story. Many consumers say that most water treatment plants, especially those located in small neighborhoods, do not follow safety and hygiene standards and sell unsafe-to-drink water to consumers. A large number of consumers are unaware of that. They read the labels on water bottles that claim that the water is purified and healthy and they drink it. In fact, many Jeddah residents have suffered from several diseases that were caused by drinking so-called “purified” water treated at these plants. The reporter visited a number of plants north and south Jeddah and noticed that some of them have poor standards of hygiene and use primitive methods to fill water into bottles and sell them to the general public. One of the bottling plants in north Jeddah was using unclean methods to fill the bottles. A worker who was filling some bottles at the plant was sweating heavily while filling the large water containers. In south Jeddah, the situation was not any different. One of the plants was obviously filthy from inside. There was no ventilation and no technicians in the laboratory to check the quality of water and ensure its safety for consumption. Some bottles seemed to be moldy and were on their way to be sold to consumers. Mohsin Al-Zahrani, a consumer, said water delivered to homes from some of these bottling plants has an unpleasant taste. He now no longer relies on the delivery services and prefers to go the plant itself and see how water is filled into bottles and whether workers are using clean methods to do that. He called upon the authorities to conduct frequent and unannounced inspection visits to water treatment plants. Zaki Miftah said as a consumer he worries about the quality of water many water treatment plants deliver. “I believe the established plants follow global water purifying standards. It's the new plants that a lot of consumers are worried about and they think twice before buying their products.” Miftah is very skeptical about the quality of water from new bottling plants and he prefers old plants, which he believes are trustworthy.
