By Kingsley Adegboye

Still disturbed by the ravaging flood that swept away Ajegunle community and its environs last year following the release of water from Ogun/Oshun River , the Lagos State Government has commenced measures to put the impeding flood under control.

Water being released from Ikere Gorge dam

Part of the measures is the routine monitoring of Oyan Dam, Abeokuta and Ikere Gorge Dam in Iseyin, Oyo State by the joint committee set up by the River Basin Development Authority and Lagos State Government. The committee will monitor the dams which collect water from upstream and discharge to the downstream when they are over full.

The essence of the monitoring is to ascertain the levels of water in the dams from time to time so that by the time they get to the level of release which is inevitable, people particularly along the down stream such as Lagos and Isheri North in Ogun State will be adequately notified so that they can evacuate their neighbourhoods before the flood surfaces.

During the first monitoring last week by the joint committee, the Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services, Engr. Muyideen Akinsanya stated that based on the spot assessment of the dams, the flooding will be put under control to avert a recurrence of the heavy flooding which inundated communities on the Ogun River banks last year. He said he was convinced after inspecting both dams that there exists enough room to contain more storm water during the rainy season.

Engr Akinsanya who led a team of officials from Lagos State Government on a visit to the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority (O-ORBDA) managers of Oyan Dam, Abeokuta and Ikere Gorge Dam in Iseyin, Oyo State noted that the inspection tour was informed by the need to see the level of water in the reservoirs to enable experts plan ahead in view of the expected high intensity of the rainfall this year.

According to him, “we have experienced intense rain in Lagos as predicted by NIMET. The trip was to see the effect of the rain on the river and possible overflow to Lagos. The Joint Committee of O-ORBDA and Lagos State Government is capable of continuous monitoring of the rise in level of the rivers in order to issue informed early warning statements to the public and advise concerned governments on steps to be taken to avoid casualties during rainy seasons.

He added that Oyan dam currently has three metres buoyancy capacity and as such there is no cause for alarm. He appealed to members of the public to adhere to warnings so as to avoid disasters.

The Permsec claimed that “what we have been experiencing in Lagos in recent past is flash flood which disappears in less than one hour unlike in the past when flood lasted for one week or more on roads”. He enjoined members of the public to always desilt drains and desist from dumping refuse in the drains to avoid drainage blockage which is a major cause of flooding.

Executive Director, Engineering, O-ORBDA, Engr. Bayo Alayande stated that “Oyan Dam was built to keep the flow of Oyan River, a tributary of Ogun River in check. The dam’s reservior has water storage capacity of 270 million cubic meters. It has a length of 27km, width of six km while the surface area is 40 kilometer square. The dam if explored for electricity generation can generate maximum capacity 9000 kilowatts.

Engr Alayande noted that the Federal Government, as part of the concern to tackle flood, has procured four Flood Early Warning Systems. He stated that out of the four procured, two of them are located in Alamutu, Ogun State and Eruwa, Oyo State. He explained that the Early Warning System, which components include rain guage, radar for reading and solar panel, has a satellite linked to computers in the office to monitor level of water rise in the river.

At the Ikere Gorge Dam, the Project Manager, Mr. Babatunde Ojo told the team that the Dam which has capacity for storing 555 million cubic metres has many purposes which include power generation, water supply, flood control and tourism. “The dam is capable of generating 3750 megawatts of electricity” he said.