People who live in big middle eastern cities like Doha, Dubai Abu Dhabi etc for a while many of them, including those who are quite young, complain of hair loss and problems of dry skin, allergies and rashes.
Experts attribute all these malaise to the hardness of water which is desalinated. Desalinated water is good for use and even potable but the only problem is that its PPM (particles per million) multiplies when it is channeled for distribution through the pipelines.
PPM refers to Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) present in water. The more the TDS the harder is the water. Seawater which is the hardest and saline, has 10,000 PPM, for instance, while the normal treated water has PPM between 40 and 50.
TDS refers to different types of minerals present in water such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, nitrate and sodium, to name a few. Experts say over-presence of these minerals in potable water is not desirable as it can lead to problems like kidney stones.
Their over-presence in the water used for other purposes can lead to other problems like skin allergies, rashes and hair fall, say experts.
While the normal treated water for drinking and other uses in countries outside of the GCC region has 40 to 50 PPM, which is described ideal for drinking and other uses, the PPM of desalinated water in this part of the world is usually between 100 and 150.
Questions are often raised about the PPM of some local bottled water brands and experts swear they are also not up to
the mark.
Affluent families here use imported potable water and half-a-litre of a bottle can cost up to a whopping QR25, if sources in the water industry are to be believed.
According to them, there is a general misconception that bottled water is better than tap water. “The tap water which we get in Doha is, in fact, better,” said a source, adding that their PPM is almost the same.
The tap water is clean and pure and its PPM is much lower when produced, but it increases when channeled into the pipelines for distribution.
“In fact, in the GCC the cleanest desalinated water we get is in Qatar,” said the source.
There is another misconception that the tap water here can be boiled and made potable. Water, say experts, is boiled to kill bacteria, germs and virus, and not to reduce PPM.
“There are hardly any microbiological impurities in the desalinated water in Qatar, so boiling tap water doesn’t help. The pipelines here are cleaner as compared to other countries and it is where water gets its impurities from,” said Sunil Goykar, from the water treatment division of Qatar Oilfield Supply Centre, in remarks to The Peninsula.
He claimed that devices are, however, available locally to treat the tap water here and reduce its PPM for drinking as well as for other uses.