Tackling Flooding In Port Harcourt

Stretched far beyond environmentally acceptable limits, by the ever bloating population explosion in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital and its attendant pressure on city dwellers to build on every available piece of land, for habitation and business, sometimes even across existing drainages, incessant flooding has for a long while posed a major challenge to city planners and successive governments alike.

Infact, flooding during and after rains, has for many years now caused unimaginable economic losses to motorists, essential service workers and pedestrians alike who time and again risked their automobiles in tiring and sometimes stalled long traffic with often very painful impacts on their vehicles and health.

It was to address these concerns that the Rt Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi’s government, upon inception nearly two years ago, commissioned a holistic survey of terrible flood sites, using an international corporate citizen with vast know how and which, for the first time, produced a comprehensive compendium of facts and technical details needed to address the perennial problem of flooding.

Speaking as Guest of The Tide Round Table, a weekly personality interview programme of the Rivers State Newspaper Corporation, in Port Harcourt, early this year, Mr Dakuku Peterside confirmed that government had earlier commissioned a foreign company with indept technical knowledge of flood control.  That effort, eventually produced an all-embracing project synopsis, but regretted that implementation became a problem because both foreign and local contractors found the technical drawings too difficult to interpret or execute”.

However, the Works Commissioner had quickly assured that incessant flooding would soon be a thing of the past, since all initial complexities have been harmonised and promised that work on four of the eight identified serious flood zones would begin soon.

This is why it came to many as a huge relief, when, the Ministry penultimate week, commissioned work on four flood sites, namely; the Central Bank junction, along Azikiwe Road, Stadium Road, Woji Road, in new Government Reserved Area (GRA) and another at the St John’s church bus stop, along Aba Road, all in Port Harcourt.

The Tide commends both the Works Ministry and indeed the State government for summoning the necessary political will to confront flooding in the city at this time of lean resources, a challenge which successive administrations had frequently postponed for later. This is also why it becomes most instructive to advise the contracting firms to treat their mandate with the highest sense of responsibility, technical accuracy and acceptable speed.

We say so because very few public worries measure up to those actuated by lack of potable drinking water, epileptic electric power supply, bad roads and indeed floods caused either by blocked drains or none at all, not to mention the health hazards often posed to humans through polluted drinking water.

Happily, the Commissioner for Works has promised that by next year, flooding in the identified sites would be a thing of the past, meaning, the contractors would be encouraged to adhere strictly to scheduled milestones, and deliver on time.

It is in this light that The Tide sues for public understanding, patience and sacrifice which challenges of construction may demand of them, in the days to come since, to get better, a lot of the drainage sites will soon witness various construction jobs that may inconvenience motorists, city dwellers and other road users alike, even more.

Surely, there is no use over-emphasising the fact that the success or failure of any administration, including the Amaechi government, depends largely on how well, each responds to issues of pressing public concerns. Tackling the menace of flooding with its attendant health hazards to human life, is undoubtedly one such. Hopefully, contractors and indeed the Supervising Ministry, we believe, should understand this fact, and act as such.