Dredging of the Odaw River begins to mitigate floods in Accra

General News on Thursday, April 18, 2019

Source: 3news.com

2019-04-18

Dredging of the Odaw River drainage system, which has become a receptacle for much of Accra's waste, began in earnest as the government takes steps to prevent recurring floods in the capital during the rainy season. this year.

Dredge Masters engineers and workers are expected to dispose of much of the waste, mainly sand and waste, accumulated in the drainage system for almost two years in the next 45 days.

Yesterday morning, when a team of reporters visited the drainage network of over 1000 meters long Kwame Nkrumah, huge amounts of silt had been extracted on the bank of the drains and were in the process. 39, be loaded off the site to prevent it from being washed into the system.

The dredging exercise is done day and night in order to restore the effectiveness and retention capacity of the drainage system in order to be able to contain the volume of water, especially when it is raining. This will prevent flooding.

It follows a two-year contract signed between the government and Dredge Masters in February 2019 for the dredging and maintenance of the Odaw River drainage system and the Korle Lagoon to prevent persistent flooding in Accra. during the rainy season.

In accordance with the contract, Dredge Masters, a subsidiary of the Jospong Group of Companies, is to redefine and build the dam and dam of the Korle Lagoon Basin Ecological Restoration Project (KLERP) over the next two years.

In partnership with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Dredge Masters also eliminates encroachments and squatters along the drainage system whose activities have contributed to the siltation of drains.

Dredge Masters signed in June 2016 with the government a similar two-year contract, which guaranteed the evacuation of the siltation of the Odaw drainage system in order to prevent flooding.

More than one million cubic meters of dredged material was removed from the Korle system and lagoon, exceeding the contract volume, but at the end of the contract, the system was again rigged in a short time.

Sena Adiepena, director of operations at Dredge Masters, said the situation was being monitored after the expiry of her initial contract and that the rate of siltation was fairly fast and required continuous desensitization and dredging.

He explained that the level of siltation causes the loss of drain retention capacity, which causes the overflow of water on the banks, causing flooding.

Mr. Adiepena emphasized the need to flirt Odaw's drains, saying that "if we lose its capacity, it tends to overflow easily from its banks and its essential element and very important that we retain its original design less rain" .

According to him, the quarterly dredging of the Odaw drainage system will be the best way to ensure optimal network maintenance.

The operations manager said that despite the dredging, there will still be "minimal deposits" in the drainage system, but he noted that continued dredging would ensure that "we do not lose the capacity of this drain".

"The main reason for the flood is not garbage; it was the silt deposits that resulted in a loss of drain capacity. The contents of the garbage serve only as a blockade, which aggravates the situation, "he explained.

Mr. Adiepena said that siltation of the river is a natural phenomenon, but when the banks of the drain are exposed and are not properly turfed, the materials fall into the drainage system to add to the deposits .

"Thus, as part of our project and our project, we must not only flirt, but also beautify and green the landscape and all this to improve the appearance of the region," he said.

He stated that there could be a permanent solution to this drainage problem, but that this would require a reengineering and design of the Odaw drainage system, noting that even after everything is completed, "we can not remove maintenance of drains.