Lagos Flooding: Eko Atlantic City Takes The Blame


The incessant flooding on the Lagos Island has gotten worse each year and this has been attributed to the Eko Atlantic City project. A project that is being developed by Lebanese businessman Gilbert Chagoury, a bonafide hustler who made his fortune during the Abacha era. The project was flagged off during the Fashola administration and has the blessing of Bola Tinubu, who is allegedly a silent partner in the project.

According to Mimi Onuoha, a Brooklyn based artist and researcher, the flaw in the construction of the Eko Atlantic City is responsible for the worsening flooding in Lagos city. A flood that just this rainy season has caused several casualties and billions of Naira in damages to property and infrastructure in the State.
In her report for Quartz, Mimi writes:
Eko Atlantic is the name of a grandiose project to create a new economic capital for Africa—notably, right next to the current economic capital for Africa. The development includes everything from sky-scrapers to luxury apartments, a new financial district, a private power-grid, and a shopping boulevard in the image of New York’s Fifth Avenue. It’s the brainchild of the Chagoury brothers, two Nigerian-born billionaires of Lebanese descent who own South Energyx Nigeria Ltd, a real estate development company created to build out Eko Atlantic.

Eko Atlantic is meant to be an antidote to Lagos’s deepest recession in 30 years. The city is meant to bring 250,000 new jobs and address a housing shortage brought on by a surging population. This, and the fact that it’s privately-funded, have lent it the support of the state and federal governments. It’s being sold to investors as “a valuable foothold in Africa” one of the world’s last emerging growth markets.
But what makes Eko Atlantic’s development especially noteworthy is its location. The planned city borders Lagos directly. Eko Atlantic was built by dredging up and filling in 10 kilometers (about 6.2 miles) worth of land. Before the project began in 2009, the peninsula was virtually non-existent.
The result is that Eko Atlantic has the appearance of being an island created out of thin air. Satellite imagery highlights just how dramatic an effect the construction — which is far from finished — has had on Lagos’ coast.

Satellite imagery courtesy of DigitalGlobe
The government of Lagos has programs in place to address coastal erosion because Lagos’ location leaves it deeply susceptible to rising sea levels and catastrophic storm surges. In 2012, a storm surge in the exact area of Eko Atlantic’s construction killed 16 people.
In the aftermath of the tragedy (which some blamed on disturbances caused by Eko Atlantic’s building) the developers of the project highlighted the fabrication of “The Great Wall of Lagos,” a sea wall that wraps around the city and protects it from the effects of the surrounding Atlantic.

But according to some climate scientists, the same wall that will protect Eko Atlantic could worsen the situation for neighboring areas not protected by it, which includes much of Lagos. Dr. Alan Blumberg, renowned for his research and the effects of climate change on water structures, highlighted the challenges in a phone call.
“What happens when you build a wall is that the approaching storm surge will come up to the wall, and it will move to the left or right of the wall, searching for a weakness or a low spot. If there are two islands close to each other, it may go to the island next door instead.”

Construction of Eko Atlantic’s Great Wall
David Frame, Managing Director of South Energyx Ltd, said in a statement to Quartz, that the sea wall is designed and tested to handle the worst storms in hundreds/thousand years; “The Great Wall of Lagos will ensure that everyone living and working within the 10 square kilometres (6.2 miles) of reclaimed land for Eko Atlantic and the population of Victoria Island are protected from the sea.”
For Lagos, a city composed of a series of islands, if this is not the case, the situation Blumberg describes could be disastrous. Lagos’ surrounding areas are not only unprotected by the wall, but are lower in sea level than Eko Atlantic. It’s a combination that leaves the old city of Lagos and its hundreds of years of history startlingly vulnerable.

If the critics are correct, Eko Atlantic might provide parts of Lagos with yet another link to the sea, one rooted in potential danger and unknowable risk. To the sea parts of the city may return.

http://www.herald.ng/lagos-flooding-eko-atlantic-city-takes-blame/

Arrest Fashola!

Wall rubbish.. Stop short changing projects. To Nigerians, its all about money instead of environment and safety.

If Nigerians were the engineers that built that hotel in Dubai, I don't think it would still be standing tall till today.

Even the developed countries don't sand-filled a riverine area before building houses on top of it.They will rather build their houses on top of water.

I am very sorry for Lagosians. The AD/ACN/APC has done nothing to uplift Lagos since 1999 (18 years!!). How can a coastal state not have an advanced storm drainage system for goodness sake No doubt Eko Atlantic city has caused some impact on lekki axis but have we noticed that sandfilling of lagoons is going on at an alarming rate? If you sandfill everywhere then how will rainwater drain off? On third mainland bridge if you are heading to oworo from obalende you will see plenty of sandfilling on the right. Once they are through they will call it ikoyi and allocate the sand land for estates to their paddy men.

All these years LASG big men, APC big men and their cronies have been making big money off sandfilling and dredging and selling sandfilled land, neglecting the environmental impact. Today we can all see the results. Fashola and Tinubu are a disgrace o

Watch as AMC - Ambode Media Centre - avoid this thread.

I see this hitting fp in the next 24 hours

While there is a strong valid points in the write up, we also have to consider the case of poor drainage system in several areas of the lagos metropolis.
Even where there are existing drainage system, it is either too shallow or narrow to take in the worst storms or in most cases, even the moderate storm.
There is this bad, nasty habits of Lagosians dropping there refuse in d drainages or outrightly blocking it with litters.
I think this administration has nt really put in much effort in that area.
Open up d drainage channels, construct new old or reconstruct existing ones to accomodate incoming worst case storm, educate d people abt d danger of dumping refuse in their gutters or drainages nd even enforce arrest if possible.
Climatic changes globally causes rise in the sea level annually and lagos state that is surrounded with water bodies cannot afford to sleep.
Solving this requires massive effort from the government nd d residents.

Ambode is working

It's too late now. There was a Yoruba professor who was raising the alarm of the outcome of Eko Atlantic project to fashola but he was ignored. Now he has the last laugh.

Eko Atlantic is actually a privately owned city. And will be managed by private investors. It might not do much for the real Lagos economy other than isolating the super rich in a fantasy land fill where everything is provided to them.

Lekki might be abandoned in the future because of global warming and sea rise. Sorry to all those who built expensive houses there. This will only get worse.

Advice

If you bought a house in Lekki or built one, just forget it, the land itself is lower than the surrounding water bodies' level, things will only get worse, forget it.

Let me keep quiet for now before those bitter people will tell me how landlocked south east is

The water can't just disappear like that, it would merely be displaced.

This tweet shows the gradual sand-filling and how how the water is pushed away to other regions. https://twitter.com/iDREYY/status/883692119260622848?s=09

It's high time we stopped acting nonchalant when it comes to environmental issues and start asking authorities the right questions.

Freemancipation:
It's too late now. There was a Yoruba professor who was raising the alarm of the outcome of Eko Atlantic project to fashola but he was ignored. Now he has the last laugh.

Eko Atlantic is actually a privately owned city. And will be managed by private investors. It might not do much for the real Lagos economy other than isolating the super rich in a fantasy land fill where everything is provided to them.

Lekki might be abandoned in the future because of global warming and sea rise. Sorry to all those who built expensive houses there. This will only get worse.

true

eko atlantic will mostly create cheap jobs and it was an elitist project from day one

IgboticGirl:
Let me keep quiet for now before those bitter people will tell me how landlocked south east is

You gat no brain at all.
Is your region not landlocked?
Your people knows that that's why they are doing attache by force with SS states

waledeji:

You gat no brain at all.
Is your region not landlocked?
Your people knows that that's why they are doing attache by force with SS states

Talk is cheap

They've been experiencing flood decades before EA, so what's EA got to do with flood?


These endless fake stories are getting out of hand.

deomelo:
They've been experiencing flood decades before EA, so what's EA got to do with flood?


These endless fake stories are getting out of hand.

This is not a case of ocean surge whereby V.I and surrounding areas are flooded with sea water. The problem here is poor drainage from rainfall. Engineering and money can solve the problem.

The greater problem here is that Lekki is already below sea level. This isn't just about poor drainage.

Guestlander:


This is not a case of ocean surge whereby V.I and surrounding areas are flooded with sea water. The problem here is poor drainage from rainfall. Engineering and money can solve the problem.

Guestlander:


This is not a case of ocean surge whereby V.I and surrounding areas are flooded with sea water. The problem here is poor drainage from rainfall. Engineering and money can solve the problem.

It's always easy for the layman without any studies, data, weather or meteorology experience to spew baseless assertions and offer meaningless solutions to what they really know nothing about.

Why not show us the survey data and studies report you based your conclusions on.


What you drain ends up in the sea or lagoon, but with high sea and lagoon water level, water heads inland and pushes what you drain back inland. Drainage works when you have low sea level to properly receive water from the drainage system.


The only solution to me sounds more like building water basin or reservoirs in neighborhoods to collect and retain rain water and release the same rain water into the sea or lagoon when water level drops.

In many cities with the best drainage and city planning, they know drainage can not solve their problem, so they passed laws that mandate new development to construct water retention basin to prevent flood.

No drainage can keep up with too much rain and fast moving water.

Stormwater management and drainage: If levels are higher and storms are stronger, your community will need to be able to hold back higher levels or water… or retain more stormwater before needing to drain it immediately away.

http://asbpa.org/2017/03/28/how-will-you-know-theres-a-sea-level-problem/

Retention ponds

What are retention ponds?

Retention ponds, also known as stormwater retention basins or man-made lakes: store rainfall runoff from streets and adjacent lands are an efficient and cost-effective land drainage system, because fewer and smaller pipes can be used to carry runoff to the rivers benefit our environment by acting as a natural filter – they help to remove sediment and chemicals before the water drains to our rivers
collect only land drainage, and not wastewater from homes or businesses
Is it normal for the water levels in the ponds to fluctuate?

[img]http://2.bp..com/_6NH3EV-Lmoc/TG-71nwKNJI/AAAAAAAABwM/3dXXN6JJBJ4/s1600/RetentionPond.jpg[/img]

http://winnipeg.ca/waterandwaste/drainageFlooding/ponds.stm

Drainage can not save you when you are below sea level, it helps only when you are higher than the sea level.


When you flush your toilet and send poo from your poo drainage or pipes into your septic tank, it flows inside your septic easy, but when your septic tank is full, your tank is full and your poo level high, it means your septic tan can not accept any pore poo and no amount of drainage system can help you, you have to reduce the poo level in your poo tank before draining any poo into it.

Shey you get the gist?

EKO Atlantic white elephant project.

anibi9674:
EKO Atlantic white elephant project.

Typical ignorant rubbish.

deomelo:



It's always easy for the layman without any studies, data, weather or meteorology experience to spew baseless assertions and offer meaningless solutions to what they really know nothing about.

Why not show us the survey data and studies report you based your conclusions on.


What you drain ends up in the sea or lagoon, but with high sea and lagoon water level, water heads inland and pushes what you drain back inland. Drainage works when you have low sea level to properly receive water from the drainage system.


The only solution to me sounds more like building water basin or reservoirs in neighborhoods to collect and retain rain water and release the same rain water into the sea or lagoon when water level drops.

In many cities with the best drainage and city planning, they know drainage can not solve their problem, so they passed laws that mandate new development to construct water retention basin to prevent flood.

No drainage can keep up with too much rain and fast moving water.






Retention ponds





Drainage can not save you when you are below sea level, it helps only when you are higher than the sea level.


When you flush your toilet and send poo from your poo drainage or pipes into your septic tank, it flows inside your septic easy, but when your septic tank is full, your tank is full and your poo level high, it means your septic tan can not accept any pore poo and no amount of drainage system can help you, you have to reduce the poo level in your poo tank before draining any poo into it.

Shey you get the gist?

I agree with u though, u made a valid point

The problem is not drainage

Why is this essay more focused on detention than on bigger pipes and ditches, although we need them, too? It is because our bayou-based drainage system is overtaxed. The U.S. Corps of Engineers and Harris County Flood Control District say flow rates into Buffalo Bayou are maxed out. The bayou cannot accept runoff any faster than it already does. That doesn't mean it can't accept more water over time. It can. But detention is needed to slow the rate of discharge and allow more time for the bayou to drain.


http://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/Houston-neighborhoods-shouldn-t-be-detention-ponds-7257721.php

This is Houston, USA, a well planned city with good drainage system. What we drain in Lagos goes into the sea or lagoon while theirs goes into the Bayou, but just like us, drainage can not keep up with heavy rain and fast moving water when the Bayou level is high just like us when the sea and lagoon level is high.

Their only solution is water retention ponds to collect and retain rain water till the Bayou water level drops.


This is what we need in Lagos because I don't see any way out, definitely not drainage even though we need to invest in those too.



BTW, I saw a thread on NL with Oyinbo man paddling around inside canoe in Lagos because of flood and people are laughing and acting as if this is unique to us in Nigeria as if such doesn't haven in their own countries when inn fact they go thorough the same thing every rainy season.

more floodings will occur when the zoo Atlantic city has been completed.

All the bad Belle for Eko Atlantic. These clowns would rather Eko Atlantic be shared as ram, kola nut, rice, noodle,wheel barrows,radio etc.Who is this clown aka mimi and how does he qualify as a subject matter expert on flooding, drainage. Is he a planner or an engineer ?
Whomever allowed people to sandfill the serene habitat that was the former lekki should be tied to a stake and shot.
The swamp acted as a natural storm breaker against the force of the Atlantic and was also a beautiful habitat for exotic wildlife/runoff channels of freshwater.
I do believe that Nigerians have a natural tendency to believe that there aren't repercussions for their negative actions. From squandering their oil wealth and wondering why their economy is shiiitt to voting useless politicians to whom, you can only attribute garbage strewn Street
By simply looking at pictures from the flooding, the damage caused by the prison/like fences and pave stones is enough reason . The ground can't soak the rainwater and the fences box the flood in like a bath tub
I would not take a land in lekki if you gave it to me for free. Sandfill as much as you want, the water will take it back eventually.

Abeggi! This is an just an opportunity for those who were against the EAC from the start to spew rubbish.

Year in year out, so called experts would write articles on how EAC is causing flooding in Lagos.

Watch out and see this same repeated report released next year when it floods again in Lagos.

EAC has come to stay. It's left for LASG to find a lasting solution to the flood issues.

And someone please tell Ambode to concentrate more on the Light rail project than his ambitious 4th MB biko!

nku5:
I am very sorry for Lagosians. The AD/ACN/APC has done nothing to uplift Lagos since 1999 (18 years!!). How can a coastal state not have an advanced storm drainage system for goodness sake No doubt Eko Atlantic city has caused some impact on lekki axis but have we noticed that sandfilling of lagoons is going on at an alarming rate? If you sandfill everywhere then how will rainwater drain off? On third mainland bridge if you are heading to oworo from obalende you will see plenty of sandfilling on the right. Once they are through they will call it ikoyi and allocate the sand land for estates to their paddy men.

All these years LASG big men, APC big men and their cronies have been making big money off sandfilling and dredging and selling sandfilled land, neglecting the environmental impact. Today we can all see the results. Fashola and Tinubu are a disgrace o

sandfilling is not the cause of the problem.

oduastates:
Who is this clown aka mimi and how does he qualify as a subject matter experts on flooding, drainage. Is he a planner or engineer ?
Whomever allowed people to sandfill the serene habitat that was the former lekki should be tied to a stake and shot.
The swamp acted as a natural storm breaker against the force of the Atlantic and was also a beautiful habitat for exotic wildlife/runoff channels of freshwater.
I do believe that Nigerians have a natural tendency to believe that there aren't repercussions for their negative action.
By simply looking at pictures for the flooding, the damage caused by the prison like fences and pave stones alone resulted into the water having nowhere to go.

mental,the 'clown' is mimi ONUOHA,an ipobia and shes speaking on behalf of/for all cone heads....there aint no educated conehead intelligent enough to speak now,hence an ipobian is helping them cover their illiteracy. Conheads are only usefull as agberos and as cheering crowd when the likes of Mc Oluomo is strolling by

op,ONUOHA pls help dem o,they are confused..

IgboticGirl:
Ambode is working

While EKO is floating