Water is one of man’s most abundant goods and occupies about 70% of the earth’s surface, however, a greater percentage of the world’s population lives without access to safe drinking water, especially in developing countries. The importance of good quality drinking water cannot be overstated. In many developing countries, the availability of water has become a critical and urgent problem and is of great concern to families and communities that depend on a non-public water supply system.

The provision of drinking water to the rural and urban population is necessary to prevent health risks. Unsafe water is a global public health threat, putting people at risk of a number of diseases as well as chemical poisoning. More than two million people, mostly children under five years of age, have been reported to die from diarrheal diseases and, according to WHO (2004), almost 90% of diarrhea-related deaths have been attributed to supplies of unsafe or inadequate water. and sanitation. The WHO estimated in 2006 that 1.1 billion people lack access to clean water.

What exactly is ‘pure water’?

Nigeria is located on the west coast of Africa, where water is plentiful, but the majority of the population lack adequate and safe drinking water. As a result, the people who can afford it are now drilling wells and selling water, without any major treatment, to the ever-growing population. Many individuals and corporate entities in Nigeria now engage in packaging water in around 50-60cl polythene bags, popularly called ‘pure water’, which they sell to the public. Therefore, drinking water is commercially available in easy-to-open sachets. The production, sale and consumption of water in sachets has increased enormously. There are now several brands of this water sachet marketed in Nigeria and other developing countries.

Why should we care?

In Nigeria, the public drinking water supply is unreliable, which encourages the sale of drinking water in polythene bags due to its availability and affordability. However, there is concern about the purity of the water in sachets. The integrity of the environment and the conditions under which most sachets are produced are questionable because many of those engaged in their production do not adhere to the standards established by the WHO (2006) and the Federal Environmental Protection Agency. , FEPA (1999). . Good quality water is supposed to be colourless, odorless and tasteless, as well as being free of microbial and chemical contaminants. Most consumers tend to be more concerned with the appearance and taste of water than with the invisible load of potentially harmful microorganisms and other contaminants that may be present in water.

In recent years and in the past, many investigations have been carried out in various parts of the country to determine the purity of the water in the sachet, and most of the results point to the same conclusion: that our so-called ‘pure water’ it may not be completely safe to drink. The results of most studies of sachet water for purity and safety almost always found evidence of microbial and, in some cases, chemical contaminants.

Regulation organism

The National Agency for Food Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is an agency of the Nigerian government tasked with regulating the manufacture and sale of food, medicines, and cosmetics in the country and, by extension, oversees the bottled water industry. NAFDAC itself has been criticized for not adequately policing the industry. Some companies have been known to submit fake samples to pass NAFDAC tests and obtain a registration number, but then sell untreated tap water labeled pure. Other companies simply print a completely fake NAFDAC number on their packaging. Another area that NAFDAC has also neglected is the water sachet distribution channel. There is evidence that this sachet water becomes contaminated leaving production sites while in the hands of distributors and street vendors due to poor handling and storage.

The way to follow

Much has been said but little has been done about the quality of the water in packets that is distributed in developing countries. Some have proposed an outright ban on sachet water, but proponents of this idea must consider the institutional inadequacies in public water supply and the enormous economic benefits of sachet water. However, the activities of regulatory agencies need to be intensified to ensure compliance with the rules. Regulatory activities that promote basic hygiene values ​​(eg, handwashing, general cleaning of the storage environment and vendor bins) and a proper handling culture could produce the desired improvements. The focus has to change from just monitoring the final product, as this does not always give the full picture in terms of microbiological risk assessment. Distribution methods and channels should also go unnoticed. There is also a need to raise public awareness and monitor/regulate vendors of sachet water.