Managing Director of the Water Resources Authority (WRA), Basil Fernandez, has expressed the view that Jamaica's water quality is among the best in the world.

"You have to remember that our water is not tainted by some of the pharmaceuticals and chemicals found in the water in some countries," he told JIS News. "Many cruise ships that visit Jamaica and come from ports such as Miami, get their supply of water from Ocho Rios and not from anywhere else," he tells JIS News.

Corporate Public Relations Manager of the National Water Commission (NWC), Charles Buchanan echoes this view, also in a JIS News interview. "Generally, Jamaica's water quality ranks among the very best in the world. This is usually because of a combination of two factors. The raw water quality in Jamaica is generally good across many locations in Jamaica," he said.

"The high quality of water is also a factor of the rigorous process of water treatment that we have. In fact, in many other countries, persons do not drink the water that is provided from their municipal service. In Jamaica, we have stringently sought to achieve the World Health Organisation's (WHO) and the Ministry of Health's water quality standards," he adds.

Mr. Buchanan notes that the NWC maintains a very vigorous programme to ensure that there is no compromise of the water quality it supplies to the population.

"We have to be very much on our toes as well as spend significant amounts of money to make sure that this quality control is maintained and the well-being of our customers is protected," he reiterates.

Mr. Buchanan says that it was not unusual for countries to post notices advising people not to drink water from their taps.

"This is done in most places in the United States. And they don't have a problem with money. Even with the limited resources we have, the water quality here is one of the things we can be absolutely proud of. In fact, most cruise ships that come into the region take water only in Jamaica and in select locations in the United States," says Mr. Buchanan.

Underscoring this point, Minister of Water and Housing, Dr. Horace Chang speaking at the Caribbean Sanitation Workshop at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston earlier this year, stated that the availability of safe drinking water has important implications for development.

"Apart from the obvious health issue, the challenge of safe drinking water and basic sanitation is closely linked to several other socio-political issues, first and foremost among them is poverty," Dr. Chang said.

Water and sanitation are intricately bound, and it is the lack of proper sanitation caused by the unavailability of good quality water that adversely affects many people around the world.