St. Martin News Network

Great Bay:--- The Inspectorate of Public Health Social Development & Labor will be testing the quality of drinking water on the southern part of the island. The Environmental Hygiene department of the Inspectorate of Public Health in collaboration with SLS is now in a position to independently verify the quality of drinking water produced and distributed on St. Maarten.
In compliance with the Drink Water Ordinance the government of St. Maarten via SLS is able to audit the quality of drinking water produced on St. Maarten. These audits will be conducted four times a year based on the volume of water produced. Inspectors of the Environmental Hygiene department of IVSA will take samples and said samples will be analyzed for microbial contamination, the physical and chemical properties of the drinking water. The Drinking water Ordinance also provides the norms to which the quality must adhere.
"It is important that the water we drink is tested not only by GEBE, but also by an independent lab. The law stipulates this and we should make sure that the checks and balances are in place to ensure our drinking water is safe and stays that way," said Minister Cornelius De Weever.
By means of the Drinking Water ordinance the internal quality control program of Drinking water distributor GEBE has to be reported to the IVSA this is in effect since January of 2012 whereby the Inspectorate will report the quarterly report to the Minister.