Water contamination in Al Ain area denied

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Saqr Abdullah Barrak, Head of Public Relations Department of the AADC, said that the Arabic newspaper had not told the truth, as the reporter was seeking a scoop without searching for the truth. Barrak highlighted that it is very dangerous to write on issues related to public health without accuracy.

“An Al Ain resident had complained to the daily about his neighbour receiving contaminated water.

It was discovered that the neighbour had built an illegal bathroom with a primitive sewage system, without a licence either from the Al Ain Municipality or from the AADC. Only both of them received contaminated water, and not the entire area as was mentioned in the daily.

After the Al Ain resident complained to the newspaper that the water in his house was stinking, the daily rushed to publish the story without seeking an official response after investigations,” he added.

The AADC sent engineers and technicians, along with the Water Network Manager, to investigate the case.

“The committee discovered that the neighbour of the complainant had built illegal utilities on the sub-pipe that supplied the two houses with water. Therefore, the pipes developed holes in it,” he added.

Barrak said the AADC regularly takes random samples of the water supplied to houses in Al Ain to assess their quality.

He told Khaleej Times that the AADC hurried to solve the problem and made every effort to offer pure water to the two houses from water tanks till the pipes were changed, adding that he knew that the source of the problem was the illegal bathroom in the house of the complainant’s neighbour.