The Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LASWARCO) has closed the factories of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, and Guinness Nigeria for extracting groundwater for commercial purposes without the required authorisation.
Speaking on Tuesday in Lagos, Olowu Babatunde, the director of technical services at LASWARCO, stated that the commission had been engaging with the three companies for over seven years. However, they had either partially complied or failed to meet regulatory requirements, necessitating enforcement action.
“We operate under a law that empowers us to regulate major groundwater extractors in Lagos State,” Babatunde explained.
“Extractors are individuals or organisations that withdraw significant quantities of groundwater for commercial purposes.
“These companies—Coca-Cola, FrieslandCampina, and Guinness—extract water in large volumes. We have been in discussions with them for over seven years. Some have made partial efforts to comply, while others have not complied at all. Now, with the implementation of our regulations, we are compelling them to meet all regulatory obligations.”
On Monday, Tokunbo Wahab, Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, addressed the issue during a press briefing on unregulated groundwater extraction. Wahab highlighted that the Environmental Management and Protection Law of 2017 authorises LASWARCO to regulate groundwater activities and impose penalties for unauthorised extraction.
Wahab warned of severe environmental risks posed by unregulated groundwater extraction, such as land subsidence and contamination.
He also mentioned that in 2020, the government introduced a 75% waiver on groundwater abstraction fees to encourage compliance. Unfortunately, many organisations failed to utilise this incentive, prompting the regulator to enforce penalties.
The commissioner noted that LASWARCO had issued warning letters to non-compliant organisations, granting them a 72-hour deadline to rectify their status. Failure to comply would result in penalties for operating without proper authorisation.
