6TH NATIONAL COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENT (NCE)

6TH NATIONAL COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENT (NCE)

MEMORANDUM ON DEVASTATING AND MASSIVE FLOODING IN RIVERS STATE SUBMITTED BY RIVERS STATE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT.

1.0. PURPOSE
The purpose of this memorandum is to request the National Council on Environment to urgently draw the attention of the Federal Government to intervene in the annual devastation and massive flooding in Rivers State.
2.0. BACKGROUND
2.1. Flood is an environmental phenomenon that is widely spread in Rivers State. It is progressively causing devastating ecological havocs by destroying properties, agricultural land, infrastructure and has rendered many inhabitants of the State homeless.
2.2. Flood intensifying factors in Rivers State among others include severe rainfall, the nature of the terrain, the morphology of the flood plains, channel siltation and near surface aquifer
2.3. Rivers State is most of the time influenced by the inter tropical convergence zone with its induced low pressure belt. This essentially means that the State is under the influence of south west winds all the time. The winds generate rains all the year round. The monthly rainfalls are characterized by two peaks which rise from less than 50mm in all parts of the State in January to above 300mm in July. It declines slightly in August.. This generates high intensity and increased volume of rains which occasions flooding in the whole State.
With a very low rate of infiltration into the substrate estimated at less than 1m/day, the heavy water supply from rains normally augment discharges from the rivers and creeks to further intensify flooding all over the State.
2.4. The State Government has spent millions of Naira from the ecological fund in the dredging and concrete lining of Ntawogba creek, the major creek that drains flood from rains in Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor Local Government Areas of the State. The State Government has also disilted the major drains within Port Harcourt and has embarked on canalization of creeks.
2.5. These efforts and projects have not kept the State and especially Port Harcourt and its environs free from massive flooding. The rains wrecked havoc in all parts of the State, destroyed properties and rendered inhabitants of the State homeless this year just like other years.
The Ntawogba creek which much money has been spent could not accommodate the volume of rain water and often over flows its banks thus submerging houses and destroying properties within Port Harcourt and its metropolis. This is the case in every other part of the State where properties infrastructure and farm lands are lost to flood.
3.0. BRIEF AND BENEFITS:
Rivers State is prone and vulnerable to destructive and massive flooding caused by excessive rains annually. The State is crisscrossed by creeks whose banks are made of swamps and numerous lake-like water logged depressions where surface water flow can hardly be drained by gravity.

Effective control of flooding in the State would save the State from this ecological menace, destruction of properties, infrastructure, farmlands annually experienced by the State.
4.0 CONSIDERATION;
1. That, Rivers State has a flat floored depression crisscrossed by a network of slow flowing braided, reticular, meandering, deranged creek patterns which inherently cannot efficiently drain the large volume of water introduced into it from the rainfall.
2. That, flooding mainly from rains annually destroy and devastate properties, farmlands, infrastructure; and render inhabitants of the State homeless.
3. The Rivers State Government has made efforts using the ecological fund to disilt major drains, canalize creeks and dredge with concrete lining the major creek that channels water from Port Harcourt and adjourning Local Government Areas to the Bonny estuary but these efforts do not seem to address the issue.
4. That, the State urgently needs the intervention of the Federal Government in addition to the ecological fund, to control flooding in the State to avoid total submerge of towns and villages.
5. That, flood control structures are expensive and costly for the State to build and therefore the ecological fund may not be adequate to handle the situation.
6. That, the State should be considered as a special State with reference to flooding and flood control.
5.0 APPROVAL SOUGHT.
The Council is requested to:
1. Declare Rivers State a special State in terms of flood control.
2. Urgently, invite the Federal Government to intervene in flood control in all parts of the State in order to prevent total submergence of the State, destruction of properties and devastation of the State environment.