Report: Panama drinking water not up to minimal standards

PANAMA — Of the 43 drinking water plants here, only 12 are producing water that meets minimum international standards, according to a report in El Panama America.

The national bio-security standards commission (CNNB) studied all of Panama's drinking water sources were studied over a four-month period — only 33-percent of the water tested passed, the newspaper said.  The report cited an "alarming deterioration" in drinking-water quality and the commission has called on Panama's health ministry and state water utility Idaan to take immediate steps to improve the situation, said the article.