LWC supplies water to just 1% of Lagos residents despite 210 MGD capacity
The Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) says its water network serves 34,424 registered households, representing an estimated 1.03 per cent of the state’s 20 million residents.
The corporation’s spokesperson, Rasaq Anifowoshe, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with journalists in Lagos on Sunday, responding to questions about the agency’s water coverage and expansion plans.
“Using an estimated average household size of six persons, the number of residents associated with these connections is 206,444, equivalent to approximately 1.03 per cent of the state’s estimated population of 20 million,” he said.
Anifowoshe said the corporation had an installed water production capacity of about 210 million gallons per day (MGD), compared with an estimated daily demand of 540 MGD, according to the Lagos State Water Supply Master Plan.
However, the corporation’s 2025 production records showed an annual output of about 2,633.22 million gallons, equivalent to an average of 7.21 MGD daily.
“Based on these records, actual daily production is three per cent of the installed capacity,” he said.
The figures show a wide gap between installed capacity, actual production and estimated water demand in Lagos.
Anifowoshe attributed the challenges to ageing distribution pipelines, population growth, rapid urbanisation and the need to rehabilitate and expand existing infrastructure.
Residents pay for alternative water supplies
As public water supply remains irregular in several communities, residents across Iponri, Oworonshoki, Costain, Apapa Road and Ebute Metta said they spend thousands of naira on alternative sources.
At Iponri Housing Estate, Adebayo Solomon said his household spent about N1,500 daily on vendor-supplied water, amounting to N45,000 monthly.
Another resident, Abdulkareem Ibrahim, said he relied on public boreholes provided by philanthropists because his community received no LWC supply.
“I depend on public water, the one provided by philanthropists. I fetch it in the morning or when I return from work at night,” he said.
In Oworonshoki, Amanda Ogbodo said she spent between N2,200 and N3,600 weekly on vendor-delivered borehole water. She added that LWC supply had become more consistent in parts of her area over the preceding four months, mainly from Friday afternoons into Saturday.
“We plead with the government to help us run the pipe again and resume provision of constant water access,” she said.
At Costain, Eniola Adewale said a truckload of water cost between N1,200 and N1,500, with vendors sometimes doubling their prices during shortages. She said her household relied on mobile vendors because the public facility was distant and supplied water irregularly.
Eunice David, a food vendor on Thomas Street, Costain, said she spent substantial amounts each month pumping water for household use after a public water facility that had served her community became non-functional.
However, Anthony Olamide, a point-of-sale operator on Vaughan Street, Costain, said his community had an LWC connection, although supply depended largely on electricity.
Olamide said residents contributed N1,000 monthly towards water supply, helping to reduce their spending on alternatives when public water was available. Power outages, however, interrupted supply and sometimes forced households to buy water from vendors.
At Olaogun Street, Abule-Nla Junction, Ebute Metta, Esther Emokpaire said her household spent between N1,000 and N1,500 per truckload of vendor-supplied water.
The accounts illustrate how irregular supply, non-functional facilities and inadequate water pressure leave residents paying for alternatives, even in communities with existing public connections.
Budget spending and expansion plans
The Lagos State government’s second-quarter 2026 budget implementation report showed that 36.2 per cent of the approved annual budget for improving 15 existing mini and micro waterworks had been spent by June 30.
The report also recorded expenditure equivalent to four per cent of the approved annual budget for the Adiyan Phase II Waterworks project. However, the expenditure figures do not establish the projects’ physical completion status or their current water output.
Anifowoshe said the corporation planned to rehabilitate and upgrade micro and mini treatment plants to expand public water access.
“This will make water accessible to over 5,616,000 households upon full rehabilitation, thereby fulfilling the mandate of the corporation to provide potable water to Lagosians,” he said.
The corporation has also announced plans to rehabilitate Ojokoro Mini Waterworks and construct Lagos Island Micro Waterworks.
Anifowoshe added that the corporation planned to build the Igbonla 100 MGD water treatment plant to increase supply along the Lekki-Epe corridor.
