Bottled water. Fake bottled water is on the rise in Thika town. [Photo: healthambition.com]Thika West Sub County public health officer Patrick Mburu has warned of a rise in production and sale of fake packaged drinking water with some people now doing it within their residential homes.Mburu has said that this is the reason there is an 'abundance' of bottled water everywhere in the town which is selling for as little as Sh20 for the 500ml bottle."These illegal water packers do not have any licence or proper manufacturing equipment or testing facilities. All they need is purchase used bottles from recycling centres within the town and then brand those bottles before filling them with tap water," Mburu said on Thursday at his office.He noted that some unscrupulous businessmen were even filling the bottles with borehole water which is potentially hazardous to their potential clients.The most notorious areas where the production of the 'fake water' is taking place, he said, include Ngoingwa, Landless, Kisii and Kiganjo estates where traders have big compounds.The health official noted that there are those who use bottles and containers bearing the labels of big-name companies whose brands are popular in the country so as buyers confuse them to be genuine ones."These bottles are not even sterilized and the number of mould, fungi and bacteria that have been found in such water can easily make drinkers sick. Consumers are unaware that the water they are consuming is actually just tap or borehole water which can result in health issues," he added.Mburu regretted that most people could not tell the difference between bottled water and tap water by their tastes and, thus end up being deceived into buying and consuming tap water, some of which is unsafe for human consumption.

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