Water Quality in Qatar

I've been living in Qatar since beginning of 2009.

Initially we took bottled water from Nestle.

After few queries, after 2 years we decided to stop paying for bottled water, since we realized that tap water was good enough.

Eventually in 2016 we decided to install a filter system (below the sink), a reverse osmosis system.

I do believe we have some level of protection regarding solids in suspension and minerals. In the other hand, we installed (only for my wife) a shower with a filter system for washing hair, and my wife is positively saying that it has made a diference.

My wife says Tea tastes much better, I do believe the

Very Good and valuable Discussions......

H 

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Its simply delicious and the only natural spring water in all of Qatar - indeed it is! I use it as a mixer and for ice cubes........all other bottled waters are usually suspect as they come from a domestic tap. Yuk to that I say.

Maybe water quality is OK at the time of production, but the condition and cleanliness of pipework and storage tanks is extremely questionable.

My hair loss stopped once I left Qatar, so it was either the water or the excessive but associated with living and working in that place.

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Maybe its genetic that all of you are loosing your hair. Look around how many bald Qataris do you see? Not a lot....

I have RO installed so no more worries

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I am using Nestle bottled water for drinking and cooking, what's your takes....

Sometime for making tea, i used tap water and had no issues.

Ahh... the old bottled water thread.

It's been a while since we discussed water.

Tap water is probably what the majority of people drink in Doha - ie all the workers and laborers. They are all fine.

Most other people prefer bottled water.

I use the tap water for cooking and drink bottled water, because bottled water does taste better (depending on the brand).

There are a lot of things in Doha I have no confidence in, but when it comes to water I have no issues drinking the tap water here.

If anything, as mentioned above, the plastic bottles the water comes in are more likely to make you sick than the tanks and pipes the tap water is in contact with.

Ever since we're using Al Manhal. Last Jan 3 kids at home we're vomiting ( my 11 yrs old & 4 yrs old nieces & my 1 yr old son). Thinking that our source of water is the culprit. We tried switching water that is processed outside Doha (like Evian from France & Nestle from UAE). Now we're using Nestle.

'Gulfa' brand bottled water is OK and consistently good quality. It's a lot cheaper than 'Evian too.

Has this issue affected women too? It'd be scary...

I don't drink tap water here, and neither does my dog, but what aoubt Rayyan bottled water? Is it ok or all that contaminated stuff swims in there too? Is it best to switch to Evian (and see my wallet cry...)?

new intown - don't take things so personally. I gave information about the water supply based on what I've been told and what I've read (the same information others have seen, it appears). Regarding the car washing, I deliberately posted this in a separate comment to try and show that I wasn't misinterpreting your original point. I didn't mention it in relation to drinking water at all. I was simply trying to clarify the point you and MD were arguing about.

If you have information that shows that we shouldn't be drinking the water then please present it here for those who are worried. So far the only arguments you've provided for the water not being safe is the state of the tanks in the house (which I agree with), and that nothing works here in Qatar so we shouldn't expect the state of the art water treatment to work.

How did that abstinence-only education work out for the Palin family?

What is the conculsion here is it Safe to Drink Tap Water or not..?

fiji water for me. tastes the same everywhere

And you are as bald as a coot.

Seriously though, desalinated (pure) water kills plants. I have designed desalination plants for irrigation and you need to add and balance some serious chemicals not to kill the grass and so repoprts of hair loss doesn't surprise if the proportion mess up. Diabetes is another health issue with pure water.

With that we never got onto to the lack of chlorine residuals bacteria and ideal breeding tempertures in the pipes and roof tank.

Highland spring or evian.

As others have said here, the desalinated water is upto international standards, however, it has a bit more disolved carbon dioxide in it. This wreaks havoc with copper pipes (as i have experienced). Only problem is between the desal plant and the tap. This is where the water gets contaminated. So I only drink bottled water. Incidentally, the big bottles used in water fountains comes from the desalination plant too.

i dont trust the water in the taps either... i go down to the beach everyday at 6 AM, get 2 barrels full of seawater, then begin distilling it in my own underground laboratory. which reminds me.. i've run out of chlorine..

Tallg,

Yes you did infer it wasn't clean but despite this it seems you keep drinking it and so it is ok for one and all. It seems you are playing a one up contest on what you think you know and chose to misinterpretate my original point, that the water is only good for washing cars. I could have said equally goats or camels backsides.

By your own admission you are drinking the 'water' and it is nice to think you are....CHEERS

Not to forget the ground and Over head tank which is a potential Time Bomb pre>

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Indeed, I mentioned the tanks and local pipes as potential problems in my earlier comment.

Well you will know there is only TSE and potable water then. Also I never memtioned about legality of private car wash or otherwise, only what the public water supply is fit for.

I am in the water industry and know the operational and maintenance problems from the works to the distribution system. I wouldn't drink the water. You may think you are alright but the effects may be longterm.

You may want to take a look inside the tank on your roof if you don't think twice about drinking then your standards are pretty low.

The comment is based on information and test results I've read and heard from various sources so I believe it is true. Plus drinking it has never done me any harm.

So I probably "know that" better than you know the details about personal and professional car washing.

The water supply is perfectly safe to drink and the "state of the art water treatment" works fine.

Do you know that?

Suffered hair loss in Qatar. Maybe water quality is OK at the time of production, but the condition and cleanliness of pipework and storage tanks is extremely questionable. My hair loss stopped once I left Qatar, so it was either the water or the excessive bu----t associated with living and working in that place. Maybe it was bit of both...

new intown - Washing your car outside your house carries a heavy fine (QR10,000 or QR15,000 have been quoted). It's not 100% clear whether this law exists to stop water being wasted, or to stop dirty water settling in the streets and turning into mud.

Either way, water is a precious commodity in Qatar and shouldn't be wasted. I think the water used at car wash shops is industrial water (i.e. it hasn't been treated to make it suitable for drinking).

The water supply is perfectly safe to drink and the "state of the art water treatment" works fine.

The only possible problem comes from the pipes leading from the main supply to the houses, and also the tanks where the water is stored. The water company has no control over these elements. But even with this slight risk, I personally think it's fine to drink water straight from the tap, but people will always be over-paranoid about these sorts of things.

Read the post again.

What do you think they use at car wash shops.

"It is ok for car washing". It is not ok for car washing. Car washing with "drinking" water is not allowed.

"I hope you not an english teacher." should read: I hope you are not an English teacher.

new intown, washing your car can cost you a 10.000 Riyal fine!

It is ok for car washing and shower otherwise buy from supermarket for cooking and drinking purposes. They may have state of the art water treatment but if they don't work it right then.. and what works here.

If anyone wants a copy of of a water sample taken from the Well at Wakra please PM me - it is 100% safe for drinking.

BTW, Water from the Desal plant is not only boiled but also passes through a reverse osmosis plant

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"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Hair loss from driving.... good thing I don't drive.. with my remaining hair I don't want to risk it.

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A good husband is healthy and always absent.

A healthy man is a successful man.

Japanese Proverbs

I think the hair loss is from the driving, not the water.

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Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.

Inside of a dog, it is too dark to read. - Groucho Marx

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Oh, that explains why I'm losing so much hair..

I thought it was the shampoo. :( Crap, so now I have to wash it with bottled water.

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╬ Jai Guru Deva ╬

alexanderforrest..thats a bit harsh, stupid people! You may be a dentist or a tooth expert but others aren't!

BTW, the kidney failure could be due to the amount of diabetics in this country not the water.....

If your still one of the stupid people who think that fluoride being added to drinking water is a good thing for general health and preventing cavaties in teeth, then read this article.

It provides evidence from multiple sources and examines why water is being fluoridated in the first place.

Fluoride is a by-product of Aliminium production and is a way for these multi-nationals to make an extra buck.

Sources are all extensively given as are references to blind and double-blind studies.

http://www.sustainabilitycentre.com.au/Ecologist.html

Stay away from Fluoridated water!

Dog gets water from tap. After all, it's a dog. It doesn't expect anything more.

Hi all

i have been following this thread.

what do people with pets do for providing them with water as i had avoided giving them bottled water due to mineral content. i'm not yet in doha. but generally use water that has been filtered from the main for myself and my pets.

thanks

If the proposed system is for filtration and desalination, the price of 2900 QAR is expensive. it consists of skid mounted small water pump, 4 stages cartridge and carbon filters, reverse osmosis membrane and small pressure tank (ultra violet disinfection lamp can be added).

In general sea water is desalinated using reverse osmosis or distillation system process to reduce the salt levels, however this process sometimes can not control precisely the value of each of the salt and therefore some salt reduced to less than the favorable levels but in general it is OK.

Adding that small water desalination and filtration system to the sea water desalinated system (tap water) means further reduction of some salts to unfavorable levels.

however, If the proposed system is only filtration system (without reverse osmosis membrane)it will be fine and will filter the water and remove residual chlorine, organic matter, bad taste and Color IF presents in water.

I have one small desalination and filtration system in my home country Syria where we get the water from springs/shallow wells. In this case the filtration system is good as it reduces the salts from higher acceptable values to the normal acceptable values ( I can live without it).

really?

since ive been here the last four months my hair is falling out and when visited the Dr he stated theres a lot of people repoting the same thing, including himself, something to do with the water. Even the hairdresser my hubby goes to said most people are complaining of hair thinning and falling. This really is a dilema here, whats the alternative bath in bottled water, even thats apparently not safe anymore!!!

it also brings confusion when he presented that

there was medical proofs from Hamad regarding the very high

rate of kidney failure amongst Qatari and the drinking water

is the big contributor to these...

may i here from the chemist or authority in water quality the truth about the quality of processed and bottled water here. the so called: HARDNESS, SUSPENDED SOLIDS, HIGH CHLORINE and their adverse effects to our body.

Water supplied through the pipeline is safe.

At the same time why dont you just use a normal filter and boil it

for use?

NO harm will come.

RED_POPE...Fluoride and chlorine does more harm than good...

these are only necessary if the pipelines are running through contaminated areas and the chances of bacteria/germs getting into the water system is high.

Not enough fluoride and chlorine..

If they could guarantee their quality of water, Why they are selling bottles of water?

The Red Pope of Qatar Living

I have seen a twelve toe stripper, I have seen one breasted stripper, I have seen a brainless stripper, but never in my life a one legged stripper! Quentin tarantino-Planet Terror--

What is the problem with the water quality?

The water we get is the purified water (steam) which is used to turn the turbines to generate electricity in Qatar. Of course the water is Sea Water but after converting to steam there is only pure water with zero chemicals.

So the water from your tap is better than the Bottled water which is not only stale water but put in reused bottles/containers.

Aisha-Taweela...What did the paper say about Bottled Drinking water?

I had a similiar salesman knocking my door at dinner time. He was nicely dressed with a tie and white shirt .He was promoting his brand of water purifiers and the prices quoted by him was QAR 2900 or so.

He indicated that bottled water which is consumed is harmful in the longrun and people can suffer from gastro-something he said etc.....

So the best solution as per him was to install this water purifier which provides filtered , ion-treated 100% pur water .

He also indicated that he can prove that bottled water was unsafe.

However at dinner time , we were in no mood to give him any more time and we bid him bye bye .

Of course salesman will give you this kind of salespitch. He wants to sell, no? I would get a waterfiltering system only because of the poor quality of pipes.... So I buy bottled water. Now there was an article in the Arabic newspapers that said that Aqua, Rayyan and an other brand I forget the name of, were unsafe. However I have been using Aqua and Rayyan for many years and feel fine.

Aisha-Taweela