Following several strenuous months of significant hard work by laboratory staff and days of on-site examination in late March 2005, the laboratories of the Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) Environmental Health Division (EHD) both received recommendation for ISO 17025 certification, contingent upon corrective actions, by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). This success is the direct result of the Jordan Watershed/Water Quality Management Program funded by USAID and implemented by Camp Dresser and McKee.

WAJ laboratories will be among the first in the Middle East to attain internationally-recognized ISO 17025 accreditation, and one of the only laboratories in the Middle East to attain accreditation for drinking water testing. Both hard work and attention to detail to clear non-conformances and submit evidence of corrective actions have resulted in UKAS issuing both labs certificates of accreditation for a range of key water quality tests.

This accreditation will begin the formalization of long-term partnership between the labs and UKAS, who will return annually to perform surveillance visits.

As valuable as the accreditation itself was, the team-building that resulted from the accreditation process has strengthened the abilities of these governmental laboratories as stewards of public health quality control/quality assurance for the people of Jordan.

For example, for WAJ laboratory staff involved in the accreditation procedure, significant work was required outside of business hours, exacting a sacrifice from staff’s personal lives. However, according to WAJ staff, the team-building process resulted in a stronger group commitment to the process, the WAJ organization and to one another. The process was so successful that it was cited by WAJ staff as one that could be applied as a model for future projects.