Refuse slows down govt’s anti-flood campaign —LASG

Sandwiched between cemetery and refuse

The Lagos State Government says indiscriminate dumping of refuse in drainage channels is slowing down its efforts to ensure free flow of water and curb flooding in the state.

The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of the Environment, Ayodeji Adenekan, said this during a media chat on Wednesday in Alausa, Ikeja.

Adenekan explained that the refuse, such as nylon, disused clothes, empty water sachets and cans, acted as impediment to free flow of water during the rains and eventually caused flood.

He said, “It is a real challenge to us. If we don’t have refuse in the drains, the water will flow because we will only have silt in the drains.

“Flood is basically water and sand and the flood moves, the sand stays, so silting is something that you normally have in any drainage.

“If it is only sand, it will not be bad, but we now compound it with nylon, disused clothes, empty water sachets and cans. So, that is that is the greatest challenge that we have.”

The Permanent Secretary said the government had, however, planned ahead to avoid flooding, including cleaning primary channels and collectors regularly.

“There are also places that we know are black spots which we regularly deflood to make the drains flow. We are always on our toes to make sure the drains flow and the flood moves out of people’s way,” he added.

Adeneken stated that the government had been partnering with the Ogun State Government on modalities for releasing water from the Oyan Dam to avoid flooding.

He said, “We have agreed with the Ogun State Government on the modalities of releasing water from the Oyan Dam.

“If you dam a river, the water keeps rising and it will get to a point that if you don’t release part of the water, the dam will break; so it is necessary for Ogun to release part of the water. But we have agreed on how to release the water gradually so that it will not lead to flood.

“What we normally have in Lagos is flash flood that goes off after some times. When the rain is very heavy, the water will be much, but immediately the rain stops, the water starts reducing.

“The rate at which the flood goes is what we are trying to tackle because the bigger the drainage, the quicker the rate at which the flood goes.”

He said the state was working to bring in the local councils into its anti-flood campaign and make them more effective in monitoring the drainage channels.