Govt. seeks safe water standards

The Belize government may be out of the water business, but it’s still very much involved in ensuring that the water we purchase and drink is safe. The Ministry of Health and Pan American Health Organization are involved in a project to establish a national drinking water standard. Felipe Solsona from the Pan American Center for Sanitary Engineering and Environmental Sciences says that Belize has the basic infrastructure needed for the task.

Felipe Solsona, Water Quality Advisor, PAHO

“We had nearly fifteen institutions working of the subject. So that was very important because what we achieve is not the work of two international experts, but the work of local people after a common goal and this was achieved.”

“In fact this is going to be the first standard for drinking water quality in Belize. Up to now and for many years Ministry of Health has copied the drinking water values of guidelines presented by WHO, but these were guidelines that became standard. Now we have a really good standard. Nevertheless, what we have done with all the experts from the different institutions is to produce a proposal. We have the proposal, it needs a bit of polishing and will be ready by mid June but the basic work is done. I’m very happy with what has been done.”

Solsona says that it will be up to the government to make the proposals into law. From what he’s observed, the quality of water in Belize is good.