Editor’s note: Poor or unhygienic drinking water has been a great problem to most part of Nigeria. In order to get clean drinking water, many people resort to buying ‘pure’ water but ironically the ‘pure’ water is far from being hygienic.
ZENITHBLOG.com reports that in the concluding part of this report, an investigative journalist, Hannah Ojo uncovers the shocking source of unhealthy sachet water in Lagos.
Shocking source of unhealthy sachet water
The most shocking results of the scientifically tested sachet water samples was the one produced by UNILAG, which recorded the presence of coliform and high microbial load on two separate occasions.
On May 15, the reporter purchased three sachets of UNILAG’s water at the Iya Ibeji store located at the campus shuttle park. Another set of samples of sachet water purchased from the same outlet on August 1 and subjected to laboratory test showed the presence of high microbial loads, with the analyst recommending that the water should be treated to make it potable.
Confronted with the result, officials of the university debunked the claim, saying the tested water samples selected could be counterfeited products smuggled into the campus illegally.
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The University’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Toyin Adebule, told the reporter that the university had been having a running battle with fake sachet water producers who counterfeited the university’s brand.
The results of Lagos sachet water test. Photo credit: Hannah Ojo
Adebule said: “Our Department of Chemistry on a weekly basis conducts quality assurance test on UNILAG water. There are fake UNILAG waters around, and the authority is clamping down on the perpetrators.”
The reporter paid a visit to the UNILAG factory penultimate Wednesday. At the door post, a banner displaying good water storage practices greets visitors.
The UNILAG water factory which started in 1995 was privatised recently and is now managed by the University of Lagos Holding Company Limited.
Speaking with this reporter, the General Manager of UNILAG Ventures, Mrs Oyewunmi Onanuga said: “We challenge anyone with claims to contamination of our water to buy directly from our factory and subject it to laboratory tests. Only last year, we had a case of adulterated UNILAG water counterfeited by some people.
“We also emphasise to retailers that storage condition is important. If the water is left under the sun, on the bare floor or stored for a period exceeding validity, then there could be possibility of contamination.”
Another ironic twist also occurred with Troven Water, a sachet water brand sourced from the central cafeteria of the Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja. Produced by Treasured Rocks Ventures, Troven Water, which also has a LWRC registration number, recorded a low pH of 6.20.
Damming verdict…pathogenic faecal Coliform
The laboratory sample which recorded the most damming verdict was Fizco Water, produced by Akanji Ola and Sons, located in Mushin, a densely populated suburb of Lagos.
A very popular brand in the area, the sample was selected at an open market in Mushin and taken to the lab on May 17.
When the physical, chemical and microbiological characteristics were analysed, it showed the presence of pathogenic bacteria totalling 1.50x 103, exceeding the WHO limits of 1.0×101 in threefold.
Also, the total coliform count was 3.0×101; a far cry from the WHO recommended 0.00 limits. The pH (acidity) was also high at a record 5.60 against the WHO recommended maximum of 6.50. Fizco Water is registered with NAFDAC registration number B1-5761L.
According to a study by the African Journal of Food Science and Technology, Faecal coliforms are bacteria found in the faecal material of humans and warm blooded animals.
Diseases such as typhoid fever, hepatitis, gastroenteritis, dysentery and ear infections can be contracted from waters with high faecal coliform count, the study further revealed. Faecal coliform bacteria can come into surface water through improperly treated wastewater.
Last month, there was an outbreak of diarrhoea in Lagos State where two people died and 25 others were quarantined.
The incident occurred in Shomolu, the locale where Ray Queen Water, another brand contaminated with high acidity, was sourced from. Findings show that Shomolu/Bariga is also a hub for counterfeited sachet water.
NAFDAC investigates, urges proper storage of packaged water
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), regulates and controls the manufacture and distribution of food, drug, chemicals, medical devices and packaged water.
A summary of the results of the first 15 samples were directed to be submitted to the pharmaco-vigilance arm of the agency. Also, NAFDAC ran a cross check on the registration status of the selected water samples.
A particular brand, Vic Pure Water, produced by Kroxxing Ventures in Abule-Egba, was not in the agency’s record of registered sachet water producers, even though the sachet has the registration number C1-4773L boldly printed on it.
Another brand, Dis Day Water, was registered as Oniks Water while Austin Water produced in Fatai Atere has an expired registration status.
NAFDAC’s director of Special Duties, Dr Abubakar Jimoh in a chat with this reporter cited issue of storage and counterfeiting as reasons why packaged water registered by the agency may turn out to be contaminated.
Dr Jimoh said: “Even if a product is registered but it is stored in bad condition, it will return as poison. Bottled water has a life span of one year and sachet water is two months.
“Secondly, the fact that a water company carries a NAFDAC registration number does not mean it is registered. We have arrested printers who printed labels for those adulterating fast selling sachet water brands.
“Then the third layer is where the real owner of the product would be compliant when seeking registration but lower their standards once they get registered. We are also warming people not to buy packaged water from hawkers because of the exposure to the sun,” he submitted.
How corruption and multiple taxation affect quality of sachet water
Nothing gives the indication that Dame Clementina Ativie, the National President of the Association of Table Water Producers (ATWAP), is a forceful woman until she took hold of the microphone to state the grievances of packaged water producers in Lagos at a stakeholders’ meeting on taxation and revenue generation, convened by the state’s Ministry of Finance on August 1.
She lamented the fact that water producers are vulnerable to tax and revenue collectors from both local government and state levels. The development, she said, is forcing many water producers to relocate to suburbs where there is ease of doing business. She hinted that multiple taxation could be the reason for low quality sachet water in the state.
Prevalence of water-borne disease in Lagos general hospital 2014. Photo: Hannah Ojo
“Consultants and touts are used to threatening us both at the local government and state levels. As I speak, we have over 20 people all going for revenue collection from water producers. More than six agencies alone from the state’s Ministry of Environment, each with an independent letter, with the Lagos state government letter-headed paper.
“Ninety-nine per cent of the money goes into private pockets because there are no receipts. When government says pay N5,000, the touts will tell you, ‘Give us N2000 and forget the balance.’ The N2,000 is not remitted to the state’s coffers.
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“With the way things are going, those that can continue to pay will start cutting corners with the quality of water,” she said.
No respite for the poor
On a hot sunny day in Maryland, Lagos, John Nwordi, a pharmacist carries a fast food branded polythene bag, heading back to work to have lunch after a hectic morning duty. Asked if he would wash down the food with sachet water, he gave a sharp retort; No!
Said John: “Gone are those days I drank sachet water. These days, I don’t. Some of the sachet water I have bought in the past had funny outlook and sometimes you’d see substances flying inside the sachet.”
Not far away, a teenager and aspiring rapper, Micheal Odion, flags down a sachet water hawker. Asked if he’s not afraid of contamination, his response, “The blood of Jesus covers me!”
Odion’s response resonates with the thought of many Lagosians who hope for a spiritual force that will cover them from diseases after drinking sachet water. A purified water source is beyond the purchasing power of many Lagos residents.
Reporting for this story was supported by Code for Africa’s impactAFRICA fund and the Bill & Melinda Gate Foundation.
Meanwhile, ZENITHBLOG.com had previously reported that a photo showed two men filling up dispensable water bottles from water in a stream.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the editorial policy of ZENITHBLOG.com.
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