• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Stopping the floods at Isheri North

Isheri-Flood

The respite of the dry season and return of normalcy to the Isheri North Residential Scheme in Lagos provides an opportunity to take another look at the challenge of flooding in the area. In the last five years, Isheri North annually turns into a flooding basket case. Residents move out and businesses stall.

The flooding was particularly devastating in 2019. It brought in its wake a disagreement on the causes of the annual damage between the residents of the area and the Ogun Osun River Basin Development Authority on water releases and flood control activities at Oyan Dam. It is time to apply the lessons of the past five years to ensure that there is no repeat experience in 2020.

Good enough that the two parties have engaged themselves in stakeholder summits, meetings and in the exchange over causes.  While the River Basin Authority points to climate change resulting in “exceptionally high and prolonged rainfall experience” for the floods, the residents dispute this with rainfall data and history. They identify the conversion of parts of the dam to fishponds, an unintended economic activity, as a precipitator. Officials work with owners of the ponds to release water at the wrong intervals, flooding the surrounding areas.

The government of President Shehu Aliyu Shagari built and commissioned the dam in 1983. The dam supplies water to Abeokuta and services the Lagos State Water Corporation. They installed three turbines for electricity generation in the dam. No one has deployed the turbines to date.

Instead, following years of neglect, fishponds within the area have grown in number. They prevent the free flow of water released in the dry season so as not to endanger fish in their ponds.

The Isheri community alleges that the release by the River Basin Authority of water from the dam in May 2019 at the peak of the rainy season rather than in the dry season precipitated the floods. On its part, the Ogun Osun River Basin Development Authority (OORBDA) claimed residents built their houses on flood plains that land grabbers allegedly sold to them. This was the stand of OORBDA managing director Olufemi Odumosu.

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The facts available would lead to a conclusion away from both global warming and building on flood plains as causes for the floods. It is noteworthy that the incidents of flooding exacerbated only in the last five years. The community has existed for multiples of that without flooding. Something more recent is at play.

The area was flood-free in the 1990s as both parties agreed following a summit in 2017. They recommended preventive monitoring of water levels and releases from the reservoir. However, the area flooded in 2018 and 2019.

Records show that release of water by the River Basin Authority from the Oyan Dam reservoir happened during November, December, January through March, April, May, June and July. They did not release water during August, September and October.

A long-term look at rainfall patterns in the area does not support the claim of increased precipitation. If climate change were a causative factor, the Lagos Island and the adjoining regions would feel the impact first in significant flooding. It has not happened.

We urge greater cooperation between OORBDA and the Isheri Community. OORDBDA needs to return to releasing water the reservoir of the Oyan Dam in the established safe period of November through July. That way the pool is almost empty in July enabling filling up in August September and October for flood-free experience in Isheri North.

OORBDA should also consider making those turbines earn their investment. How about activating them for power generation as intended, directly or in conjunction with a GENCO with authority over the area? Every resource should pay and contribute in critical areas such as power.