ABSTRACT
Rapid increases in the world population, along with improved standards of living have resulted in increase in the demand for water, in general, and for bottled water, in particular. Thus, the water bottling industry has become one of the most profitable and fastest growing industries. In addition to social and economic factors, the growth of this industry is attributed mainly to increased concerns for safety and health. Kuwait is located in an arid zone, and imports huge quantities of bottled water simply because its local production cannot meet the ever-increasing demand for water. Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) took the initiative to utilize beachwell water for the production of high-quality bottled water. The outcome is a secure new source of drinking water for the country, a decrease in demand for the country's desalinated water, a narrowing of the gap between bottled water imports and local production, and a world-class bottling-industry model for the local market.
KISR's drinking bottled water is produced utilizing a multi-barrier approach, from source to finished product. The production plant consists of multi-processes such as filtration, desalination by Reverse Osmosis (RO), and ozonation. This paper presents evaluation of KISR'S successful model to produce high quality bottled water. Based on actual laboratory analyses, results indicate that KISR's produced bottled water meets the international standards for water intended for human consumption.
