The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tunji Bello, says the Lagos State Government will focus more on silt evacuation to ensure proper flow of drainage channels in the state.
Bello made this known during the Phase II inspection of the ongoing drainage clearing exercise by the Lagos State Government on Monday.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Commissioner was accompanied by the Special Adviser on Drainage and Water Resources, Joe Igbokwe; Permanent Secretary, Drainage, Olalekan Shodeinde; and other senior officials in the ministry.
NAN also reports that the drainage channels visited included System 2, Fola Agoro, Opeyemi Fola Agoro Collector drain, Somolu, Aloe, Akobi Crescent, Drainaging of Ojo Niyun by Park Lane Channel Collector Drain.
Other drainage channels visited included the NTA 7/Alaka Channel (System 4) Alaka, Dredging of Carter Drainage Channel, Idi Araba drain, Railway, Alaka, Otumara Costain Under bridge, Herbert Macaulay, Nathan Collector Drain and dredging of Bush Arowojobe Channel.
According to Bello, it is better to allow evacuated silt taken from the canal to drain for some time because it is usually wet and heavy.
He said at least two or three days were enough for the silt to dry, saying the ministry had noticed abandonment of silts around some places which would be addressed as soon as possible.
Bello said: “Our observation so far is that we still have some problems in some areas and in most parts, the drainage evacuator had done tremendous job in evacuation of drainage channels in the state.
“We have asked the engineers in charge of some drainages that we are not comfortable with what they did and to go back and start all over again.
“We have been able to stabilise the environment structure in the state.
“We are working toward stabilising the structure of waste management we have.
“Similarly, the drainage management have been reinstalled as a result of drainage abandonment in the last four years; Idi Araba drainage was an evidence of drainage abandonment.”
Bello said the Idi Araba drainage had been evacuated, adding that it remained the upstream that needed to be evacuated to ensure proper flow of water channel.
Igbokwe said the team had been to 25 drainage channels so far to ensure possible reduction of flooding in the state.
He urged Lagos residents to stop dumping of refuse into the canal to complement government efforts at clearing the drainage channels.
Shodeinde said many channels had been cleared, which gave water easy passage, adding that the exercise continues till September 2020 to get the state ready for the October peak.
He urged residents to vacate from the setback – the minimum distance which a building or other structure must be from the canal – to enable the government excavate cutaway at the setback of the canal.
Shodeinde also urged residents to always maintain their tertiary drain to avoid small drains in the streets.