The majority of private drinking water plants are in violation of required specifications

The Industry Minister Dr. Hussein Haj Hassan announced yesterday during a joint press conference with his health counterpart, Wael Abu Faoor, the closure of all the water refining plants that failed to file for licenses, while giving those who filed the required papers until end of coming October to complete them. Meanwhile, regular inspection visits will continue to water stations that received the final authorization, and which in the case of violation of health standards, will be threatened with closure and will be held accountable for their faulty operations.

Abu Faoor, for his part, pointed out that the results of water testing have shown that the majority of over 800 water suppliers were not compliant with the standard specifications. He stressed that while the government is “unfortunately not capable of providing water to its citizens, it should not stop from alleviating the hazards endangering them,” as he put it.  “The illegal water refining plants pose great harm to the health of the Lebanese,” he noted, demanding that the security forces close all unlicensed factories. Some 600 institutions have considered themselves undeterred by the official decision and therefore shall be shut down, Abu Faoor noted. (An Nahar, Al Mustaqbal, September 18, 2015)