Flooded Ladipo Bus Stop along Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway PHOTO: AYODELE ADENIRAN
Poised to permanently address flooding in Lagos Island, the state government is constructing mega pumping station in Ilubirin.
Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services and Water Resources in the state Ministry for the Environment, Nurudeen Shodeinde, disclosed this, after an assessment tour of the pumping station.
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According to Shodeinde, construction work on the mega pumping station is expected to be concluded by end of July and will permanently solve the problem of back flowing of water from the lagoon to the listed areas causing the water to remain stagnant.
Shodeinde said when completed, the station would address the perennial flooding issues in Adeniji, Oroyinyin, Idumagbo, Ojo Giwa, Jankara and environs.
He stressed that three mega turbine pumps with the capacity to pump three million litres of stormwater per hour will be installed at the station to continuously pump water into the lagoon.
According to Shodeinde, the mega pumping station project will replace the temporary wall reinforcement constructed at Ilubirin that was aimed at preventing the back flow of the lagoon.
He explained that the big turbine pumps are designed to function automatically and self-operating while being powered majorly by public power electricity, which will be backed up with a 350KVA generator with capacity to pump any accumulated water.
He said: “The major problem responsible for flooding is the depressed nature of the affected areas, which makes it difficult for water to naturally drain into the lagoon, saying the situation prompted the state to also construct a new rectangular drainage outlet at the Ilubirin end, which is higher than the sea level.
“Water is moved either by gravity or by pumping, bearing in mind that Lagos Island is the lowest-lying part of the state and has made it difficult for water to flow into the lagoon, hence a sump, which is 20 by 20 metres in length and breadth and six- seven metres deep into the ground will be created where the three turbine pumping machines will be installed thereby creating artificial energy to pump the stormwater out into the lagoon.
“The turbine pumps, which are individually four metres high will be installed deep into the water to maintain the temperature of the coils of the pump with a discharge point that is created higher than the level of the lagoon, adding that after the completion of the project, there will be no record of water flowing back from the lagoon into the communities.”
He added that what was being experienced in Adeniji and its environs can also be regarded as one of the effects of climate change, saying though Lagos has been projected as one of the sinking cities of the world, no government will fold its hands and not put measures in place to avert such projections.
He, therefore, advised residents of Lagos Island to desist from dumping refuse into the drains and canals, urging them to take ownership of their environment by moving against individuals who are in the habit, as this has become a major contributor to flooding in the state.
Source: The Guardian
