Lagos households spend N45,000 monthly as water crisis worsens

With the Lagos State Water Corporation supplying water to only 1.65 million residents, representing about 8.3 per cent of a population of over 20 million, millions of Lagos residents depend on private water vendors, popularly known as meruwa, for their daily water needs. PUNCH Healthwise investigation reveals that low-income households spend more than N45,000 monthly purchasing water from these vendors, amid rising living costs and unreliable electricity supply. IDOWU ABDULLAHI reports

Before sunrise in Ogba, Ikeja Local Government Area of Lagos State, Mama Farida is already on Ajayi Road, waiting for meruwa (informal water vendors) to arrive.

After her early morning prayers, the mother of three begins another day of scrambling for water, an essential household necessity that costs her thousands of naira daily.

For the single mother, who sells food to support her three daughters aged 19, 16 and 14, getting water for cooking, bathing and washing clothes has become a costly daily struggle.

She buys two and a half carts of water daily for N3,500, and on weekends, when household demand increases, she buys more.

But the cost rises sharply when electricity supply is unavailable, with a cart selling for as much as N4,000, further straining her already stretched income.

“I buy two and a half trucks of water from the water vendor daily. That’s like 25 jerry cans a day, which costs N3,500. But on Saturdays, I buy more.

“When there’s no light, a truck of water, which is just 10 jerry cans, costs up to N4,000. I sell food, and my children use water to bathe and wash their school uniform. I have had to ensure my children manage the water,” the middle-aged woman told PUNCH Healthwise.

Even after spending thousands of naira to secure water for domestic use, she said her family cannot drink it.

“We don’t even drink the water. We only use it to cook and bathe. We still spend extra to buy pure water for drinking. That’s another cost entirely,” she lamented.

Despite living in Lagos, a state surrounded by lagoons and other water bodies, Mama Farida says she has never enjoyed a reliable public water supply from the Lagos State Water Corporation.

Consequently, she spends about N3,500 daily purchasing water from vendors to meet her family’s needs.

That amounts to N24,500 weekly, approximately N105,000 monthly, and N1,277,500 annually, assuming the daily expenditure remains unchanged.

In other words, Mama Farida spends more than Nigeria’s current N70,000 national minimum wage every month just to secure water for her household, excluding the additional money spent on drinking water.

For the single mother who must also provide food, pay rent, meet her children’s educational needs, and manage other household expenses, she said the cost of water drains her limited earnings.

Not aware of public water supply

Having lived in Ogba in Ikeja Local Government Area of Lagos for over five years, the mother of three said she had depended on meruwa for daily water needs.

“Since I got here, I haven’t seen any public potable water. In fact, I recently asked people if there’s no government water in Lagos because where I come from, public water still runs,” she said.

For her, the challenge has become more frustrating amid the unreliable power supply, which affects the cost of getting water.

“The stress we go through in getting water, particularly with the current situation of power supply in Lagos, has not been good at all. We’re always at the mercy of these water vendors, who dictate prices at will.

“We started buying water at N300 per truck, then to N400, N500, N700, and now sell at N1,500.

“The prices change as things change, including when the removal of the subsidy happened. It gets worse now that the power supply has been poor. We sometimes buy 10 jerry cans for N4,000,” she said.

Mama Farida, however, hopes households can access government-supplied water without having to depend on vendors to meet their everyday needs.

“We would appreciate it if the government could fix the water supply so that every household has public water in their compound,” she added.

Basic necessity

The United Nations says water is at the core of sustainable development and is critical for socio-economic development, energy and food production, healthy ecosystems and for human survival itself.

It added that water is also a rights issue. In July 2010, the UN General Assembly recognised the human right to water and sanitation.

The Assembly recognised the right of every human being to have access to enough water for personal and domestic uses, meaning between 50 and 100 litres of water per person per day.

It added that the water must be safe, acceptable and affordable.

“The water costs should not exceed 3 per cent of household income. Moreover, the water source has to be within 1,000 metres of the home and collection time should not exceed 30 minutes,” the UN Assembly said.

Also, the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 is to “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”.

Without safely managed water, sanitation and hygiene services, people’s wellbeing, dignity and opportunities are severely impacted, particularly women and girls.

According to the World Health Organisation, at least 1.7 billion people worldwide are estimated to drink water that is not protected against contamination.

It added that improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene can save 1.4 million lives per year, while better water, sanitation, and hygiene could prevent the deaths of around 1,000 children under 5 per day.

Additional burden

A housewife and mother of three, Mrs Aishat Ibrahim, said she spends N1500 daily to buy water from Meruwa for household use.

The 38-year-old, who lives on Tapa Street in Ebute Metta area of Lagos, said the money she pays for water now eats deep into her husband’s meagre earnings as a petty trader in Oyingbo market.

“We buy N1500 water daily. Sometimes, it goes for N1700 or N2000 depending on the power supply situation. Even then, it’s not easy to get water since the light has been unstable.

“Most times, we struggle to get water vendors despite being willing to pay extra for those 10 jerry cans of water.

“Once there’s no light, we have to manage the water among my three children and husband,” she said.

LWC amid residents’ struggle for water

Although there is Lagos Water Corporation, the state-owned organisation for public water supply, findings by PUNCH Healthwise show that many residents are unfamiliar with its existence, and others who know about it hardly receive water through its network.

According to information on its official website, the corporation evolved from the Lagos State Water Management Board, which was established in 1980. It was subsequently elevated to the Lagos Water Corporation under the state’s water sector reforms.

Its existence, however, does not automatically translate into access to water for all residents.

In October 2026, figures released by LWC brought the scale of the challenge into focus. The corporation says it had 34,424 registered connections, reaching approximately 1.65 million people, representing about 8.3 per cent of Lagos’ population, which exceeds 20 million people.

“LWC currently has 34,424 registered plot connections. Based on an average of 48 residents per plot, these connections serve approximately 1.65 million residents, around 8.3 per cent of the State’s population of over 20 million,” the corporation said in a statement.

This means that a substantial proportion of Lagos’ population is outside the corporation’s network reach.

The LWC attributed its production difficulties to ageing infrastructure, electricity constraints, population growth, rapid urbanisation and the need to rehabilitate and expand existing facilities.

However, findings by PUNCH Healthwise show that for households outside LWC network reach, getting water is not simply a matter of turning on a tap.

It involves paying vendors for water by vulnerable residents who are already battling skyrocketing rents, soaring cost of living, food items, transport, among other bills.

Visit to Lagos communities

Water, which should be one of the most necessities of life, has become a recurring financial burden for many vulnerable households across Lagos.

In several communities across Ikeja, Lagos Mainland and Surulere Local Government Areas visited by PUNCH Healthwise, our correspondent gathered that residents spend between N700 and N3,000 daily and more N45,000 monthly to meet their most basic water needs.

The prices, PUNCH Healthwise investigation revealed, depend on the size of the household, the availability of electricity, and the floor of the buildings the water is being supplied to.

“People need water every day, and our prices vary based on the distance of the house, floor, and availability of water. A cart ranges from N1,300 to N4,000 depending on the situation at hand. When there’s no light, we prioritise customers who can pay more for water,” Nasiru, a water vendor, told our correspondent.

Sharing her experience, 40-year-old Mrs Mary Israel, who lives on Shorinmade Street in Ogba, said buying water has become another expense competing with food and other household necessities.

“If I don’t buy water, how will my two children bathe, cook or wash their clothes? The N1,500 appears small, but when you calculate it every day, it becomes a lot,” she said.

Also, a petty trader, Mrs Ayoola Anifowose, who lives on Tapa Street in Ebute Metta and spends N1,700 daily buying water from vendors, said the money she could have used to restock her business was increasingly going towards meeting her family’s domestic water needs.

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With little savings to fall back on, she has had to make difficult choices between buying enough water and keeping her small business running.

“I sell little things to make ends meet, but before I can think of buying goods for my business, I must first make sure there is water at home, which takes about N1,700 to N2,000 any day I buy water.

“In a week, I buy water like four times. I have four children, and we all need water to bathe, cook and clean,” Anifowose said.

She explained that the situation was particularly frustrating because of the location and history of Lagos mainland, adding that it was surprising they were cut off from supply about four years ago.

A few kilometres away, another resident on Borno Way, a public school teacher who simply identified herself as Mrs Taiwo, said living on the second floor of her three-storey building puts her at a disadvantage in terms of the price of water from vendors.

Taiwo, who manages a family of five, said while others pay N1,700 or N2,000 for 10 jerry cans, she pays between N3,000 and N4,000 for the same quantity.

“The Meruwa factor in stress and prices are different for us staying upstairs. The prices also vary from floor to floor. For them to deliver to my floor, I pay between N3,000 and N4,500 depending on the situation of light and availability of the vendors.

“I spend nothing less than N3,000 on water every two days, and there are still other household necessities like food and other competing needs. Most times, we keep wastewater from clothes washing to flush the toilets just to ensure the water lasts for 48 hours,” she lamented.

Outside Lagos Mainland, visits to Adesina, Oluirolu, Olojudo, Tapa, Odo Olowu, Imam Thanni Streets and Ijesha Road in the Ijeshatedo area of Surulere LGA also showed similar pattern as many vulnerable household spends considerable portion of their earnings on water.

Speaking with PUNCH Healthwise, a full housewife on Oluirolu Street, Mrs Nkechi Abel,  said the cost of buying water had been going up lately, particularly as food prices and other household expenses continued to rise.

She said water from boreholes on the street is often coloured, adding that the situation had forced her to rely on water from Meruwa.

“The water is not clear. It is sometimes brown, and I can’t use it to cook or bathe my two children. I spend N2,500 to buy water that lasts me for two days. Now, the money for water is also competing with other expenses like food items and others.

“We now prioritise money for water like that of prepaid electricity,” she said.

A businessman and father of three on Ijesha Road, who simply identifies himself as Mr Samson, said the inability to access affordable public water meant that allocation is made daily for water.

According to him, the cost of water had become unpredictable, with electricity supply determining how much residents sometimes paid to secure it.

Spending about N1,500 on water on ordinary days, he said the amount could increase to N3,000 or more when there is no electricity.

“Sometimes, you wake up thinking you will spend N1,500 on water, but by the time you call the meruwa, the price may be N3,000 because there is no electricity.

“I cannot do without water because I have children at home, coupled with the fact of the current heat, we have to bathe several times. Even if business is not moving, we still have to find the money for water,” he said.

For a mother of four on Erelu Street in Ijesha, Mrs Mariam Ismail, the situation had forced her to become more restrictive about how water was used at home, even when she knew her children needed enough for their daily hygiene.

Spending about N3,000 daily on water, she described the expense as particularly painful because it is another burden on top of the money spent on feeding.

Ismail said the need to ensure that her children had enough water to bathe, wash their uniforms, and maintain personal hygiene meant that she had to pay for water daily.

“Children need water every day. They must bathe before going to school, and their uniforms must be washed. You cannot tell them not to use water because you don’t have money.

“Now, there’s heat and no light; that’s an additional need to use more water to bathe. Everything is expensive now. You go to the market, and the money you take cannot buy half of what you used to buy.

“You pay rent, buy food, pay for electricity, and still have to buy water every day. Where do you expect a poor woman to get all this money?” she queried.

LWC admits water supply gaps

Meanwhile, the Lagos Water Corporation, in a statement last month, admitted to gaps in government water supplied directly to households across the state.

While clarifying the population its networks currently reach, the LWC said Lagos’ installed water production capacity has the potential to serve a substantially larger proportion of the population.

“However, ageing infrastructure, power supply constraints and ongoing rehabilitation works continue to affect operational performance and the reliability of supply in some areas.

“We acknowledge that significant challenges remain in meeting the growing demand for water across Lagos State. Population growth and urban expansion require sustained investment in water production facilities, distribution infrastructure, operational efficiency and long-term planning.

“Our focus is on strengthening infrastructure, improving operational performance and expanding access to reliable and sustainable water services for residents across the state. We welcome informed public scrutiny of our performance and value accurate, transparent reporting. Discussions about water supply in Lagos must be based on a clear understanding of how the network operates, what the available figures measure and the work required to close the gap between demand and supply,” the statement read.

Unavailability of potable water poses health risks

Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise, a Consultant Public Health Physician at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Kwara State, Dr Mojirola Fasiku, explained that the unavailability of potable water exposes residents to preventable diseases.

She said that households forced to depend on untreated water sources could face increased risks of waterborne infections and other health complications.

Fasiku noted that contaminated water could transmit diseases such as cholera, typhoid and diarrhoea, with children, pregnant women and other vulnerable groups at greater risk.

The expert said inadequate access to clean water also undermines personal and environmental hygiene, as residents may struggle to maintain basic sanitation practices, including regular bathing, washing clothes, cleaning toilets and keeping their surroundings hygienic.

“If there is no water, individuals may not be able to take their baths, wash their clothes, clean their toilets, or wash their kitchen environments. These are situations that can actually lead to infections if people are unable to maintain proper hygiene in their bodies and surroundings. When people do not take their baths properly, some may develop fungal infections and other skin infections,” she said.

Fasiku also explained that complete dependence on water vendors like meruwa could also put users at risk.

“For people who buy water from vendors who push carts and use jerrycans, there are several concerns. First, even if they obtain the water from a good source, how clean are the containers (jerry cans)? They may not wash them for a long period, and that can contaminate the water. So, the source may be safe, but what about the container?

“Many of the jerry cans from these vendors may not be covered along the way. They may push the cart over long distances, exposing it to dust, dirt, and other things before delivering it to households. People then drink the water directly without knowing that it may be contaminated,” she said.

The public health experts stressed the importance of potable water provided by the government, adding that such treated water won’t expose the public to health risks.

“Access to potable water is a fundamental human right and a necessity for everyone in society. Water is necessary for drinking, food preparation, personal hygiene, sanitation and cleaning, including cleaning toilets.

“So, it should not be out of place for everyone in Lagos to have a municipal water supply so that residents can carry out their daily activities and have access to water that is not contaminated,” she said.

Stakeholders kick over planned borehole crackdown

Meanwhile, amid the final burden of water expense on vulnerable households already struggling to cope with the rising cost of living, the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission recently disclosed a planned crackdown on illegal boreholes across the state.

The Executive Secretary of LASWARCO, Oluwabukola Adeyemo, in a statement, explained that drilling boreholes and extracting groundwater without government authorisation was illegal and could attract property sealing and criminal prosecution.

However, a coalition of stakeholders faulted the move, insisting that sealing residential boreholes would be met with coordinated action across all LGAs of the state.

The coalition of civil society organisations, community groups and trade unions, under the Our Water Our Right Africa Coalition, threatened mass resistance if the government attempted to seal domestic boreholes.

They argued that residents should not be punished for seeking water amid inadequate public supply, adding that the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law of 2017 distinguishes between domestic water use and commercial extraction.

Citing Section 253(1), the coalition said the law allows residents to construct or extend wells and boreholes in residential premises without obtaining a licence where the water is intended for household domestic use. It also cited Section 259(2), which it said makes licensing compulsory for boreholes other than those meant for domestic use.

“A government that actively absolves itself of the constitutional duty to deliver water cannot legitimately turn around to criminalise and extort citizens who were forced to become their own mini-water authorities and service providers despite paying heavy taxes to the state,” the coalition said in a statement.

On October 31, 2026, PUNCH Healthwise reported that women in Opebi Valley, Ikeja, Lagos State, raised concerns over what they described as persistent water scarcity.

The women, who said many of them were displaced from their original land during a previous state-led eviction, stated that the lack of a reliable water supply had worsened their living conditions, affecting household incomes, health, safety, and livelihoods.

They raised their concerns during a community-building session organised by the Help Initiative for Social Justice and Humanitarian Development, under the auspices of the Africa Water Justice Network.

Meanwhile, efforts to get reactions on efforts being put in place to connect more Lagosians to potable water from the Lagos State Ministry of Environment and Water Resources and LWC proved abortive.

When PUNCH Healthwise contacted the ministry’s spokesperson, Mr. Kunle Adesina, he said that while LWC was under the ministry, the ministry only plays a supervisory role.

“What the ministry does is just oversight. LWC is in the best position to give data and other relevant information concerning water supply in Lagos,” Adesina said.

Also, the Head of Corporate Affairs at the LWC, Kehinde Fashola, urged our correspondent to visit the corporation office for information or an interview.

“I’m not authorised to divulge any information or grant an interview via the phone. If you want any information, come to our office for credible, verified information,” she said.