APSR issues regulation regulating the quality of drinking water

Muscat: The Authority for Public Services Regulation (APSR) issued a decision issuing a regulation regulating the quality of drinking water.

The decision seeks to preserve the high quality of water sources in the Sultanate of Oman, activate operational and administrative determinants of water quality and guarantee the enforcement of the water safety plan by stating the rights, obligations, requirements and approved technical emergency conditions governing licensees and subscribers.

The regulations confirmed that it is forbidden for any person to harm or compromise the safety of water sources, and in the event that any of the water sources were damaged by others, he must restore the situation to what it was as soon as possible in coordination with the licensee, and compensate the affected person for the damage incurred or loss.

The regulations indicate that the licensee must prepare a water safety plan that includes operational and administrative controls, an emergency plan, a comprehensive assessment of potential risks that may affect water quality, establish controls for the mechanism for examining water samples, and provide a special meter for the subscriber and an approved supply point for independent water carriers to ensure water quality.

In addition to examining the water quality by taking the minimum number of samples on a monthly basis, examining them and determining their conformity with the approved specifications, assessing the risks related to water quality, and submitting a monthly report to the Authority that includes a detail of all the results of the sample tests, and an annual report that includes the results of the risk assessment and initial procedures to deal with those risks, and future action plan to overcome them.

In the event that the water does not conform to the approved specifications, the regulations obligate the licensee to identify the sources of this water, stop supplying it, inform the Public Services Regulatory Authority of the measures it has taken to protect public health, inform the affected subscribers, and develop a plan to address the shortage of water needs in the event that the shortage is exceeded. More than six hours, and determine the reasons that lead to the samples not conforming to the approved specifications.

This decision emerges as a major regulatory frameworks that organizes the functioning of companies concerned, following the recent issuance of the Water and Sanitation Regulation Law during the recent period.