10th July, 2017
The Lagos State Government has said that it is building a retention pond to assist in containing flooding in the State.
The Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Babatunde Samuel Adejare disclosed this during the sensitization programme for the 2017 Water Technology and Environmental Control Exhibition and Conference (WATEC) held at Renaissance Hotel, GRA Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest on Monday.
Adejare said that a retention pond was currently being built at Sangotedo area of Lagos State as a form of rainfall harvesting to serve as a reservoir for storm water at the peak of the rainy season for onward release into the Okota River after the rains subsided.
Adejare, who was one of the respondents at the interview session of the sensitization programme, explained that this retention pond was essential as Lagos, in recent times had been experiencing flash flooding due to the rise in sea level and persistent rainfall.
He further expatiated that flooding all over the world was rated as the second biggest of all natural disasters, adding that the present administration had resolved to find lasting solutions to the issue of flooding.
The commissioner stated that Lagos had experienced 475mm of rainfall in the last seven days, adding that the rains of 8th of July which was 178mm was more than 6 months of rainfall in the city of California, USA.
“As part of the efforts to contain flooding, the government had resolved to be more stringent in the campaign against dumping of refuse in canals and drains and ready to scale up the application of physical planning laws against the erection of building on canals, drainage channels and water courses,” he said.
Earlier, the Adejare had attributed the flooding of some areas in the State to the high tide of the lagoon, persistent rainfall and high volume of storm water, and consequent back flow from the lagoon to the drains instead of the drains discharging into the lagoon.
He emphasized that upon the cessation of the rain, the water would have receded as this was a clear indication that “we were experiencing flashflood.”
Adejare stated that the retention pond was part of the state government’s response to issues of flooding, in addition to the existence of about 202 primary channels that also served as storage for storm water, while also serving to drain storm water.
The commissioner, thereafter, cautioned against dumping refuse in drainage channels, as such act blocked the channels and contributed to flooding with negative consequences.