LASWARCO seals 30 water factories in Lagos

Officers of the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LASWARCO) has sealed 30 water factories in the state.

The factories were sealed due to infractions ranging from unhygienic production environment, failure to comply with regulatory provisions as well as operating without adhering to good manufacturing practices.

Executive secretary of LASWARCO, Mrs. Funke Adepoju stated that the operation was in line with the mandate of the commission to protect residents from unhygienic water consumption, saying, 

In as much as we have the mandate to ensure that operators remain in business, we also cannot fold our arms and allow infractions to fester without being addressed. The primary regulatory mandate of the Commission is to ensure that operators in the water abstraction, production and distribution industry comply with best manufacturing procedures to safeguard the health of the people

Giving details of the enforcement, the Executive Secretary said, “The enforcement team of LASWARCO visited some water production factories in the State with on-site testing kits and the result confirmed that most of them are operating far below safety parameters”.

“As the regulatory body empowered by Section 313 (h) of the Lagos State Environmental Management Protection Law, 2017, to regulate the activities of those engaged in the provision, consumption, treatment, packaging, sales and supply of bottled drinking water contained in bottles or polythene bags, our principal interest is to ensure acceptable standards”, the Executive Secretary added.

While stating that the commitment of the government to ensure that residents have access to potable and safe drinking water on line with the T.H.E.M.E.S agenda and goal six of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Adepoju said that the factories would remain sealed until their owners comply with all safety procedures and duly register for further monitoring in order to facilitate compliance with best practices.

She urged residents to report any water production factory that is suspdctsd of involvement in unwholesome practices to the commission for appropriate action.