CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.0. Background to the Study
Water is essential to the survival of living matter. It plays a major role in the metabolic breakdown of molecules as proteins and carbohydrates in animals. An average man (of 53 kg – 63 kg body weight) requires about 3 litres of water in liquid and food daily to keep healthy.[1]In the past, water did not constitute an object of commercial enterprise as water sources were mainly natural sources such as rivers, streams, lakes and rainfall.[2]Water can also constitute a threat to animals including humans if not properly managed or treated before drinking. Comprising over 70% of the earth surface, water is undoubtedly the most precious natural resources that exist on our planet without the seemingly invaluable compound. Comprised of hydrogen and oxygen; life on earth would be non-existent: it is essential for everything on our planet to grow and prosper. However in its usage and exploitation, humans seem to contaminate the water.[3] Water contamination occurs when a body of water is adversely affected due to the addition of water pollution is a major problem in the global context, it is the leading worldwide cause of death and diseases, and that it accounts for the death of more than 14,000 people daily.[4]
An estimated 1,000 Indian children die of diarrheal sickness every day and 63.4 millions rural inhabitants lack access to clean water. Some 90% of china’s cities suffer from some degree of water pollution, and nearly 500 million people lack access to safe drinking water, 43.7 million people living in rural areas lack access to clean.[5] 663 million people globally are still without clean water and the vast majority of them 5.22 millions live in rural areas.[6]Advancement in technology has also contributed to contamination of streams, lakes, underground water, bays, or oceans by substances harmful to living things.[7]The quality and quantity of treated public water supply in Nigeria, especially the pipe borne water, is almost endemic and inadequate for the growing population. Recent statistics by the World Health Organisation (WHO) show that over 4,000 children worldwide die daily from water-borne diseases for lack of pure potable water; the result shows that about 166 children die per hour, and three children every other minute.[8]
From the above statistics, the alternative to inadequate water supply is found in packaged sachet and bottled water, which have gone through purification processes and preserved into a hygienic container. This paves the way for mitigating the effects of the ravaging threat of diarrhoea, cholera and typhoid as primary killers of children and adults in Africa, particularly Nigeria. To ensure safety of bottled water, laws are made to regulate and guide the activities of manufacturers or businessmen who engage in the business in Nigeria and the world at large.
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AN ANALYSIS OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR REGULATION OF BOTTLED WATER IN NIGERIA
