By Maria Famakinwa

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Everyone needs water to survive and feel better. Findings revealed that the human body uses water in all its cells, organs and tissues to help regulate body temperature and maintain other bodily functions.

The body loses water through breathing, sweating and digestion. So, we need water to rehydrate. Water, simply put, is life. This was the reason residents of Ondo State lamented the recent increase in the price of sachet water, also known as “pure water”, in the State. Some of them complained that since water was not scarce, there was no point increasing the price.

Others who appealed to the State government to address the issue disclosed that some people live in rocky environments where it is difficult to dig well for drinkable water. Therefore, they rely on sachet water.

Some of the residents who spoke with The Hope opined that the 50 percent increment was on the high side and unreasonable. A trader, Mrs. Sade Adaramola, who condemned the hike in the prices of sachet water, said that she was amazed at the sudden increase of a bag of sachet water from N100 few months ago to N150, and now N200, describing the increment as uncalled for.

She said: “In my area at Oba-Ile, it is difficult to dig well and get water. Some of us in the area stock pure water at home for drinking. As at December last year, a bag of pure water was N100. Later it jumped to N120 and increased to N150. Now, the price has increased to N200. By the time you buy five bags which used to be N500 for N1000 now, you will understand better how it affects your pocket. Government must act fast to address this unreasonable increase, otherwise the price might further go up,” she said.

Sharing a similar view, a civil servant, Mr Omobola Babafemi, explained that it was not his habit to go to the office with water because he could easily get pure water around, but said that since the price of sachet water increased, he had been going to the office with his water bottle.

His words: “I was surprised when I went to buy a sachet of water last month and was told that it was N20. I left with anger to another shop and was given the same price. I asked the seller reason for the increase and she said that it was due to increase in the price of diesel, stating that most pure water companies use diesel for production. Even with the increase in diesel price, it is not justifiable to increase price of pure water.  This is because before diesel price increased, the association of pure water sellers in the State had increased the price twice. Hiding under diesel price increment to cover up their exploitative tendency is not tenable.

“We want the State government to take urgent steps against the increment for the masses sake because water is essential to life. If the association producing sachet water in the State is not called to order, the price of sachet water will keep increasing. For instance, commercial drivers in the state increased cab drop price to N100 because of the excuse that petrol price was increased. Now they still charge N100 per drop despite the fact that petrol now sells  at the approved price of N165 per litre. We want government to address this problem because it is the  poor who bear the brunt,” he said.

A shop owner, Mrs Ebun Asela, who also condemned the increase in pure water price, urged consumers to cultivate the habit of going about with their water bottles. She said: “Now that a sachet water goes for N20, it is advisable for people to go about with their water bottles. This is the best way to avoid spending money needlessly.

“Buying a bag of sachet water for N200 is not even an option for someone like me with a large family. My children see it as fun. They take the water and waste it. Before you realize it, a bag of sachet water is almost exhausted. How many bags will I buy now when a bag goes for N200? I will rather make do with the water around, because some of the so-called pure water are not even pure enough for drinking.”

“Another respite is that we are already in the rainy season. By the time we have enough rain, the association of pure water producers will be forced to bring down the price, irrespective of the increase in the cost of production they claimed forced them to jack up the price. This is because rain water, aside remaining the best source of water, will also serve as an alternative to pure water which is now more expensive,” she said.

However, a self employed graduate, Mr Jaiye Olola, said that he was not bothered about the increment if only the producers could increase the quality.

His words: “I am not bothered about the increment if they can increase the water quality. Selling a sachet of water for N20 under this present economic situation is still okay for me, provided they increase its quality. Some pure water brands are not pure as they claim. Some give bad taste with much chlorine. I want the association concerned to look into this, so that people will get value for their money,” he advised.

The Hope visited the Supervisor of a pure water company who did not want his name in print to get his response regarding the recent increase in the price of pure water. The man explained that the price increment was necessary for producers to bring quality potable water to the door steps of consumers, which he said was not feasible with the current cost of materials for water production.

His words: “The increase became necessary due to rising production costs which  have negatively impacted the operations of members. Water is important to everybody and water is life. The cost of maintenance and production costs keep going up every day.

“In order to satisfy our numerous customers and ensure they have drinkable water on their table, the only option open to us is to increase the price from N150 to N200 per bag”.

Asked of possible further increase, the Supervisor said that he could not answer the question because the recent price hike of pure water was not intentional but due to the cost of production. “We don’t pray to increase the price further because most of our customers are complaining and it is affecting our sales. It is not our fault, but due to production costs,” he said.