Imo residents ‘resort to tap water’ as producers hike sachet water price

Some residents of Imo have resorted to drinking pipe borne water, following the surge in the price of sachet water, popularly known as ‘pure water’.

On Thursday, the Association of Table Water Producers (ATWAP) warned of a potential price increase for sachet water due to skyrocketing production costs.

The association had directed its retailers to sell a bag at N350. However, while some retailers are selling for N350, others sell for N500.

A resident of Orlu LGA told TheCable that a bag of sachet water in his area goes for N500, while a sachet sells for N50, due to unavailability of distributors in that area.

According to him, most of the distributors seldom come to the area because of insecurity.

“A bag of pure water in this area is sold at N500. This is because we don’t even see distributors to buy from,” he said.

“Those of you in Owerri should be happy because in Orlu where I stay, a bag of sachet water is N500, and a sachet goes for N50.”

Meanwhile, civil servants and most Imo residents are constantly seen clutching plastic bottles of water to work these days.

TheCable spoke to one of the civil servants spotted with a big Eva water bottle, who said the content was tap water she collected from her home.

She advised people to go back to tap water to cut down on cost of living, as inflation spirals across Nigeria.

“I cannot buy a sachet of pure water for N50 when I know I take three sachets at a go. If I should do it, I will be spending almost a thousand naira on ordinary pure water in a day. God forbid!” she said.