Lagos pledges permanent solution to flooding in Idumago, environs
• Convenes stakeholders meeting
LState Government has pledged permanent solution to the issue of flooding in Idumagbo, Oroyinyin, Ojo Giwa and environs in Lagos Island before the end of the year, stressing that what obtains at the Ilubirin end is a temporary measure.
Addressing stakeholders, which included the Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon Wasiu Eshinlokun Sanni, at a meeting held at the Lagos Island Local Council on the issue of continuous floods experienced in the area, Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tunji Bello, said the state will provide a massive pumping station equipped with high capacity tanks.
He stressed that when fully functional, the pumping station will be fitted with three bigger pumps of 3000m cube per minute M3 capacity each with a 400KVA generator to power it and which have the capacity of pumping all the water that might have accumulated within an hour.
He assured residents that what has been provided at the Ilubirin end for now is a temporary measure, which takes a minimum of two days to pump water after every heavy rainfall, adding that a basin of about six metres depth is part of the features of the new pump station that is coming on stream.
Bello told the audience that included leaders of Community Development Committees ( CDCS) and Community Development Associations ( CDAS) market men and women that the major problem responsible for flooding is the depressed nature of the area, which has made it difficult for water to naturally drain into the canals.
He explained that the natural embarkment constructed at Ilubirin should not be seen as the cause of flooding but an engineering solution that had prevented the lagoon from flowing back into the communities.
Bello stressed that what was being experienced in Idumagbo and its environs is the effects of climate change as Lagos is one of the cities projected as one of the sinking cities in the world.
He advised residents to desist from dumping refuse into drains and canals, urging them to take ownership of the environment by moving against property developers who litter drains with building materials, preventing flowing drains.
the complaints of unavailability of pipe borne water in Lagos island, he said the problem is receiving due attention through a complete overhaul of the pipe network and machinery of the Adiyan and Iju water works project.