Treatment advisable. Some areas have fresher water.
Cost breakdown
Sachet (pure water)
₦500
per bag (20 sachets)
Bottled water
₦1,300
per pack (12 bottles)
Tanker delivery
—
—
Borehole (drilling)
—
—
Borehole (monthly)
₦15,000
per month (Band A area)
⚠ Water quality is fair — borehole water may need additional treatment beyond basic filtration. Test your water before relying on it for drinking. Consider a combination of borehole (for bathing/washing) and sachet water (for drinking).
💧 Monthly water budget
₦70,000–₦120,000/month
Estimated cost for a household of 4 in Oniru
≈ 11% of median 2-bed rent in Oniru
Monthly water budget — household of 4
Sachet only
3 bags/day for family of 4
₦45,000/mo
✅ Recommended water strategy
ESTATE-MANAGED TANKER: Similar to VI — water typically included in service charges. Budget ₦70,000-₦120,000/month if not included.
L
Lagos.Cool Editorial
28 July 2026 · 2 min read
Lagos.Cool Editorial
Oniru shares the same brackish water table as VI and Lekki. Most Oniru estates include tanker delivery in service charges, but the quality varies significantly between estates. Ask your estate management for water source documentation before signing a lease.
Oniru is beachfront Victoria Island territory, and its water situation is the coastal one: sink a borehole here and the groundwater is very often saline, thanks to the Atlantic sitting metres away and salt water intruding into the shallow aquifer. That single fact drives everything — raw borehole water is fine for flushing and general washing but too salty for comfortable bathing, cooking or appliances without treatment, so households invest in filtration and reverse-osmosis systems, or lean on delivered water.
The result is that water costs more here than on the mainland. Many premium homes and serviced apartments run treated-water systems or rely on tanker deliveries of sweet water trucked in, priced accordingly. Drinking water is invariably bottled or from an RO filter. For anyone renting or buying in Oniru, water treatment is not an optional extra but part of the cost of coastal living — budget for a proper filtration setup or reliable tanker supply from the outset, because the borehole alone will not give you sweet water.
📊 How Oniru compares
Banana Island
₦0
Cheapest in Lagos
Oniru
₦120,000
← Oniru
Lekki Phase 1
₦186,000
Most expensive in Lagos
⚖️ Legal: borehole permits
Under the Lagos State Environmental Management Protection Law, drilling a borehole without LASWARCO authorization is illegal. Fine: ₦500,000 + up to 1 month imprisonment. Always obtain a permit before drilling, and hire a licensed hydrogeological surveyor to assess your site.
LASWARCO permit required. ₦500,000 fine + 1 month imprisonment for drilling without authorization.
Yes — borehole drilling is viable in Oniru. Expect a depth of 80–120 metres at a cost of around ₦n/a, with treatment advisable. some areas have fresher water..
A typical 4-person household in Oniru spends ₦45,000–₦45,000 per month depending on whether they use sachet, tanker, or borehole.
Water in Oniru requires treatment before drinking. Sachet water and 20L bottle dispensers are safer everyday options.
Borehole depth in Oniru should be 80–120 metres to reach safe water. Drilling shallower risks contaminated or saline water.
Tanker water quality varies — some operators source from clean depths, others from contaminated sites. Use tanker companies recommended by your estate manager, store water in clean tanks, and inspect tanks quarterly for sediment and algae.