The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) Lagos office, has commenced the clearance of water hyacinth from Lagos water channels to ease transportation and enhance safety.
The project will cover the critical Lagos channels with high traffic boat movements, starting with Omu creeks and Ikorodu water channel.
Already, Omu creeks have been cleared while the Ikorodu channel will take at least a week of intense clearance activities, including waste removal and disposal of the troublesome sea weeds.
Sarat Braimah, area manager of NIWA Lagos Office, said the effort is part of the agency’s key operational responsibilities to ensure smooth and safe sailing of boats as the yultide season approaches.
“There is usually an increase in boat operations during Christmas season and we want to ensure that people are safe.
Read also: NIWA phases out wooden boats, deploy 350 safety marshals to end mishaps
Incidentally, the season also heralds the return of water hyacinth around waterways in Lagos, which is why we are proactively clearing them.
“Though weeds have the capacity to rebound, we are ready to sustain a safe passage for boats operators during and even after the yultide,” she explained.
The area manager disclosed that the project will be extended to Badagry and Apapa water channels, adding that the Ikorodu water channel is most critical for now as the weeds births its way to other parts of Lagos littoral communities from this location.
“We are working round-the-clock to ensure this effort and the deployment of our River marshals are sustained to keep eyes on boat operations during this period. It’s an expensive project and very demanding, but we are equal to the task as our staff are out there daily to ensure we deliver,” the area manager added.
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