The Bottled Water Industry

        I was shocked when a friend told me; she just received her consignment of bottled water, imported from the United Kingdom. When I asked her why she was importing bottled water, which is readily available in most supermarkets in Nigeria, she told me she was used to this brand of water, having spent a considerable part of her adult life in the United Kingdom.

        If a survey of most supermarkets in several cities of the country was done; one would find several brands of bottled water, both locally manufactured and imported brands.

        In as much as doctor’s recommend, that we should drink 8 to 10 glasses of water daily, the huge amounts of foreign exchange been washed down the drain importing different brands of bottled water is mind blowing

         In Nigeria there is water everywhere, but none safe enough to drink, few cities in Nigeria actually have running taps, most of the state governments have failed to provide the most basic of human needs, shirking their responsibility of providing portable drinking water for their citizenry.

In the rural areas, most of the populace resort to pure water“, which is water packaged in sachets and more often than not obtained from dubious sources.

           Most average Nigerian homes have water dispensers, and buy refills from neighborhood stores; this is a thriving business that is for the most part unregulated as it is not known which agency of government, NAFDAC or the Ministry of Water Resource is mandated to test for bacteria, chemicals and other contaminants in this refill  water.

Most of these water dispensers are not routinely maintained and cleaned out and become reservoirs of bacteria as most of the owners do not realize that these dispensers need to be cleaned out with water and bleach routinely.

           I digress, if you are going to pay for a product you could get for free. It is wise to know what you are buying. The flavored waters crowding supermarket shelves, with their pretty packaging are often tempting, and there are several claims of health benefits and nutritional benefits.

          Some are packed with calories, sugar and artificial sweeteners, colors and preservatives.

There are different types of bottled water.

1.       Spring Water: this is one of the most common types of bottled water, when a manufacturer calls it r spring water; it means that the source of this water is from an underground formation of rocks, where natural water flows to the earth’s surface, like the Ikogosi  spring water in Ondo State. One would have to verify to confirm if any of the bottled water been currently produced in Nigeria is gotten directly from spring formations in the country. Water gotten from a borehole or tap cannot be said to be spring water.

2.       Mineral Water:  this water is similar to spring water, and contains minerals and other dissolved substances, this is gotten from the spring and typically should be bottled at the source and should contain at least 250 parts per million total dissolved solids, according to the Food and Drug Agency .

3.       Sparkling Water: this is water that has been carbonated and is bubbling and fizzy, containing carbon dioxide that has been dissolved in it, and is often used in mixed drinks.

4.       Distilled Water: this water is one that has been distilled and does not contain as much impurities as the other water and is much cleaner than other types of bottled water; however one drawback with this type of water is that it lacks distillation process.

5.       Deionized Water: this type of water is similar to distilled water, where the impurities in the water are removed by the removal of mineral ions; this is not very good as minerals like calcium which is beneficial are eliminated in the process of distilling.

6.       Flavored Water: this is water that has some nutrients and a flavor added to them and is fast becoming quite popular amongst the young and upward mobile Nigerians.

        It has taste and the added benefits of minerals and other nutrients; it is often advertised as an alternative to juices and soft drinks, it is advisable to read the nutritional label of this water to ascertain the amount of sugar and sodium that it contains, and to remember that it also contains some calories like other drinks, high fructose, artificial sweeteners

DIY flavored waters are a healthy and cheaper alternative to store bought ones; you can go online and find several recipes, which you can make in the comfort of your home. The coconut water bug has caught a number of people, and the latest trend is plant flavored bottled water, these waters are touting their product as having low calories and sugar and alternatives to coconut water, which has about 45 calories and II grams of sugar.

         There are several risks associated with bottled water, and they are sometimes not as pure as people are made to believe. It has been established that dangerous toxins are likely to leach into the water from the plastic.

         In Nigeria, most of the small stores that carry the refills for the dispenser water and other plastic bottled water, leave them in the sun, outside their shops, the danger in this is that it causes a chemical change in the water, not to mention the toll the packaging of water takes on the environment.

The real irony to this is that people who do have access to portable water either through their personal boreholes or the city water can through some simple purification system like filters attached to their taps, ensure a clean fresh supply of drinking water without all the frills and thrills.