Desalination plants 'were selling unfit water'

Ras Al Khaimah: A number of desalination plants have been selling water claiming it to be desalinated and fit for human consumption when actually it did not meet health standards, the civic body has discovered.

Municipal inspectors raided a number of suspected desalination plants recently, stopped scores of water tankers and took samples of the water meant for sale.

A senior municipal official said the authorities had received a tip-off that some of the plants were not adhering to the hygiene standards.

The municipal official added that the owners of the plants were summoned to the municipality for interrogation, adding that once investigations are complete legal measures and heavy penalties will be imposed.

Cutting costs

The initial investigation showed that the plants were eager to cut the processing time as the official desalination process takes a long time and consumes a lot of electricity.