Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), Ministry of Science and Technology has declared five brands of bottled water unsafe for public consumption
According to the monitoring report of PCRWR, 101 samples of mineral and bottled water brands have been collected from Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi, Multan, Lahore, Peshawar, Bahawalpur, Tando Jam and Quetta.
The brands including TAJ Pure Water, Livon, Sunlay, MM Pure Drinking Water and Jami Water were found to be unsafe because of higher levels of Sodium ranging from 60-187 parts per million (ppm) than Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) water quality standard for sodium 50 ppm.
PCRWR official said that drinking water quality was failing continually due to biological contamination from human waste, chemical pollutants from industries and agricultural inputs.
He further said piped water also gets contaminated as supply lines were laid close to sewerage lines or open drains that were causing many serious water borne diseases.
He added that the poor quality of drinking water has forced a large cross-section of citizens to buy bottled water. However, many of the mineral water companies were found selling contaminated water.
The official said to monitor and improve the quality of bottled water, the government through Ministry of Science and Technology has designated the task on quarterly basis.
He said it was found that 45 per cent of infant deaths have been attributed to diarrhea and about 60 per cent to overall infectious waterborne diseases across the country.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 25-30 percent of the diseases were gastro-intestinal in nature.