Public authorities deny mineral water pollution

The Ministry of Water and Drainage announced that it had conducted analyzes of the mineral water in Mauritania and the water distributed by the National Water Company and the National Office for Water Services in rural areas, which proved that it is fit for drinking and conforms to the standards of the World Health Organization.
The ministry stated, in a clarification issued by it, that it carried out these analyzes following widespread circulation on social networks of a video showing a person raising doubts regarding the validity of mineral drinking water in Mauritania by measuring the total dissolved salts index.
The ministry’s clarification said that TDS represents the total concentration of mineral and organic substances dissolved in water, measured in mg/l.
He added that it affects the taste of water and is considered a secondary indicator within the recommendations of the World Health Organization.
He continued to explain, “Water – with a low TDS index value – is poor in salts, which sometimes requires replacement with mineral salts.
There is no reference value for TDS according to the World Health Organization, but it is optimal that the TDS value should not exceed 1000 mg/L for drinking water.