Testing bottled water

Publication: Weekend Nation
Paper Section And Page: 15
Paper Date: Fri, Oct 29, 1999

ALL IMPORTED bottled water will soon be routinely tested for bacteria before being allowed into the island.

A loophole in the system allowed them to be classified as a beverage, therefore side-stepping the same kinds of stringent tests which the local water supply must undergo. That is about to change because of the high bacterial levels found in some bottled water.

"We do not routinely monitor the quality of imported bottled water but on occasions where some of them have been tested the bacteria content has been high, and have exceeded what was recommended as safe levels," senior medical officer, Dr. Ronald Knight told a public meeting on spring water use, Wednesday night, at the Queen's Park Steel Shed.

Dr. John Mwansa of the Barbados Water Authority said that the Barbados National Standards Institute was circulating two drafts of proposed standards to address this problem and to ensure that the quality of all water available in Barbados is standardised.

The meeting was the first in a series of three public sessions planned by the Ministry of Health for this year to educate the public on the dangers of virgin use of spring water in Barbados and to recommend safe approaches for those who must use the water.

Eight springs, which are routinely tested, have been found to have bacterial levels which exceed recommended safety levels. These are Pothouse Springs, Bath, College Savannah, Fortesque, Three Houses Springs, Benn Hill, Porey Springs, and White Hill.