PORTABLE WATER FACTORY REGULATORY GUIDELINES

These are the minimum guideline for the operation of a portable water factory in Nigeria:

1.0  GENERAL

1.1 These  guidelines  are  for  the  general  public,  corporate  organizations  and  individuals  that wish  to  engage  in  production  of  packaged  potable  water  for  public  consumption.

1.2 These  guidelines  prescribe  the  minimum requirements  for  personnel,  materials, machine  and  environment  for  production  of  potable  water.

1.3  It  is  important  to  note  that  no  packaged  water  should  be  manufactured,  advertised,  sold or  distributed  in  Nigeria  unless  it  has  been  registered  in  accordance  with  the  provisions of Act Cap F33 LFN 2004 and the accompanying guidelines.

2.0 ORGANIZATION AND PERSONNEL 

2.1  There  should  be  an  adequate  organizational  structure  that  clearly  defines (a)  Responsibility (b)  Authority (c)  Qualification  of  Personnel.

2.2  There  should  be  adequate  personnel  to  perform  and  supervise  the  production  and packaging  of  potable  water.

2.3  Production  of  potable  water  must  be  under  the  supervision  of  a  production  manager  who must  possess  a  minimum  of  Ordinary  National  Diploma  in  a  science  based  course obtained  from  a  recognised  tertiary  institution.

2.4  In  house  and  In  process  Quality  Control  of  functions  can  be  carried  out  by  the  production manager  while  comprehensive/detailed  product  analysis  should  be  performed  by  public analyst  registered  by  the  Institute  of  Public  Analyst  of  Nigeria  (IPAN)

2.5  Personnel  should  be  adequately  clad  in  overall,  hand  gloves,  nose/mouth  masks, headgears and rubber shoes.

3.0 BUILDING(S) 

3.1  The  entire  factory  premises  should  be  fenced  to  demarcate  it  from  all  other  buildings (residential  or  commercial).    

3.2  The  factory  must  not  be  sited  (located)  near  a  cemetery,  abattoir,  quarry,  sewage treatment  plant,  sawmill,  oil  depot  (Petroleum  and  Vegetable)  or  any  such  establishment that  could  be  a  source  of  contamination  for  processing,  production  and  packaging  of potable  water

3.3  The  building  should  be  designed  to  allow  for  free  flow  of  personnel  and  materials  to prevent  cross  contamination. 3.4 The  building  for  the  production  of  potable  water  should  be  purpose  built  or  suitably adapted  to  comprise  a  minimum  of  five  rooms  designated  as  the  cloak  room,  packaging material store, production room and finished product store & office.

3.4.1 CLOAK ROOM:

a. Floor should be made of easily cleaned and disinfected non shedding durable                 material and should have smooth surface.

b.   Walls should be made of easily cleaned and disinfected non shedding durable material and should have smooth surface.

c. Windows should and be screened with insect-proof nets and be constructed in         such a way as not to trap dust.    

d. Wall hangers/cupboard should be provided. e.   Shoe rack/lockers should be provided.

f.   Ventilation & Illumination should be adequate.

g.   A netted door at the entrance should be provided.   

3.4.2  PACKAGING MATERIALS STORE:

a.   Floor should be made of easily cleaned and disinfected non shedding durable                     material and should have smooth surface.

b. Walls should be made of easily cleaned and disinfected non shedding durable material and should have smooth surface.

c. Windows if present should be screened with insect-proof nets and be constructed in such a way as not to trap dust.

d. Pallets/shelves (not wooden) should be provided.

e. Ventilation & Illumination should be adequate.

f.   An Ultraviolet sterilizing lamp should be provided and bulb changed when spent.

3.4.3  PRODUCTION ROOM:

a. Floor should be covered with easy to clean durable materials.

b. Drainage system should be adequate to prevent flooding.

c. Walls should be made of easily cleaned and disinfected non shedding durable material and should have smooth surface.

d. Windows should be screened with insect-proof nets and be constructed in such a way as not to trap dust.

e. An air conditioner should be provided.

f.   Illumination and ventilation should be adequate.  

3.4.4   FINISHED PRODUCT STORE:

a. Floor should be made of easily cleaned and disinfected non shedding durable material and should have smooth surface.

b. Walls should be made of easily cleaned and disinfected non shedding durable  material and should have smooth surface.

c. Windows should be screened with insect-proof nets and be constructed in such a way as not to trap dust.

d. Pallets/shelves (not wooden) should be provided.

e. Illumination & ventilation should be adequate.

f. A netted door should be provided at the exit.  

4.0 FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT 

4.1:  SOURCE OF WATER

4.1.1 
The source of water could either be from a borehole of minimum depths of 100ft   150ft

4.1.2 
Public mains provided by the local water cooperation.  
4.1.3 
Use of dug out well is not allowed. 

4.1.4 
Water source should be at least 30-50m away from the nearest septic tank which may or may not be situated within the premises. 

4.2  WATER TANKS/RESERVOIR 
All tanks should be made of PVC or stainless steel. Underground reservoir (where available) should be made of concrete and fully tiled.     

4.3 PIPES  
All pipes should be made of stainless steel or PVC. Use of galvanised iron pipes is not allowed. 

4.4 TAPS 
Taps for manual filling should be made of stainless steel or PVC mounted on a stainless steel sink. 

4.5  FORM FILLING AND SEALING MACHINE 
The form filling and sealing machine (where available) should be designed to minimise man-material contact, safe to use, easy to clean and environmentally friendly. The equipment may be a fully or semi automated device.  

4.6  WATER TREATMENT PROCESS  

 

PRODUCTION LINE

5.0  WASHING AND TOILET FACILITIES 

5.1 Adequate, clean hand washing and toilet facilities should be provided for personnel.
Hand washing facilities should be equipped with soap or detergent, air driers or single-service towels.  This should be walled and floored with easily cleaned and disinfected non shedding durable material and should have smooth surface.

5.2  Toilets should be away from the production or storage areas and should be easily accessible to production area.  

5.3. Sewage, refuse and other wastes within the premises should be disposed of in a safe and sanitary manner.

SANITATION

Any building used in the manufacture, processing and packaging of potable water should be maintained in a hygienic condition. Standard operating procedures assigning responsibility for cleaning must be in place. The SOP should describe in sufficient details, the cleaning schedules as well as equipment and materials to be used in cleaning the buildings and facilities. The building should be regularly fumigated with approved fumigants in accordance with the food and drug act andthe pesticides registration regulation of NAFDAC.

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEEDURES (SOPs)

Standard Operating Procedures should be written for all operations namely:

SOP  for Production 

SOP  for Quality Control 

SOP  for cleaning of factory Premises and Equipments. 

SOP  for Recall and Distribution of products. 

SOP  for cloaking and use of toilets etc.

These SOPs should then be conspicuously placed the wall or notic board for all to see and get acquainted with at any time.

If you find any portable water factory in Nigeria that falls short of the guidelines below, please contact the closest NAFDAC OFFICE; MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT OFFICE
OR THE CLOSEST ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AUTHORITY.
If you can't find any, do not fret, just contact the EHSadvisor's Blog on our Blog address: https://ehsadvisor.blogspot.com  or our Facebook page, e-mail address etc..and we shall report the situation to protect unsuspecting public. Be patriotic! 
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