What Blame Game?

We, the residents of Accra-and other big cities I might add, are very interesting. When the floods come, we are suddenly awakened from our deep slumber into an emotionally charged frenzy of blame games. “It is the assembly”…, “it is those who build in water ways”…, “it is the open drains…” (is it the drain itself or the attitude of the people who dump refuse in drains. Even when it is covered they still lift up the cover to dump refuse into them). We are so charged up during the floods but Right after the floods have subsided what do we see? After a few recce tours by the “big” men, we all go back into hibernation, waiting to be roused by the next season of floods. Everybody blames someone but at the end of the day nobody takes the responsibility for what anybody could have supposedly done to solve the problem.

What is the Challenge in Accra?

The incidence of flooding is not peculiar to Accra. As a matter of fact it is a common occurrence around the world. What is alarming is that in recent years, there has been a rising rate of flooding incidents, some on a very large scale. We have heard of flooding in places like Brazil, China, Indonesia, India etc. The reasons for these occurrences are complex and inter-related. One of the causes of flooding is an increase in occurrences of very heavy rainfall over short periods. This has been attributed to the effects of global warming and the resultant climate change. Beyond heavy rain there are other reasons such as:

• An increase in run off which can be caused by:

-          large new developments (including roads) which have surfaces which do not absorb water;

-          changes to agricultural practice which reduce water retention at times of heavy rainfall;

• new development in areas which should be reserved for flood management;
• changes to drainage patterns and systems (whether designed or accidental) which reduce capacity to handle peak flows;
• the poor maintenance of surface water drains.

Now looking at the capital the first point we should realise is that Accra is a plain. As a matter of fact, when it rains, it is not only water from the city but also water from the surrounding hilly areas that will drain through Accra into the sea. Decades ago, there was no extensive development so when it rained the water could make use of the natural water systems- streams and wetlands to drain gradually. The water could also infiltrate into the groundwater system through the soil. Now with all these developments and so many paved surfaces, run off has increased. Unfortunately most of the natural drainage systems have been lost. Secondly, the capacities of the constructed drains are limited; by their size and also by the fact that they are sometimes silted or choked with refuse. In other instances, construction of roads have not only increased run off but has also prevented  water from one point from being carried over to the other point (reduced the volume of water that could be transported from one point to another within a given time). We have seen an increase in construction in areas just below the Akwapim hills such as Ashongman, etc which have all been developed when they could have been used as detention basins for flood management. There are a lot of other factors but the result is that these days even with the lowest intensity of rainfall, there is flooding in the city.

Moving forward in the right direction

As for WHY we have the floods, a thousand and one reasons beyond the examples given earlier, could be postulated. The most important question is HOW do we deal with the floods and who is responsible?

So I ask “Whose fault or whose responsibility is it?”–AMA? Department of Urban Roads? Hydrological Services Department/Ministry of Water Resources Works and Housing? City Dwellers? All these stakeholders need to be engaged for a concerted action to deal with the floods. It is clear that we need a clear policy direction for storm water management. We do need a good drainage system for Accra and hence the need to support the development of a drainage master plan which is linked to town planning While we still plan and look for the resources to put in elaborate systems, we could learn a few tips from what is known as Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS). These offer an alternative approach to traditional drainage and employ a whole range of techniques to effectively manage drainage at the source with the aim of holding the stormwater and releasing it slowly into water ways or to the ground.

There are a lot of best management practices (BMPs) that have been identified for stormwater management. Some of these include Detention Ponds, Soakaways, infiltration trenches and natural systems such as wetlands and lagoons. These of course have to be city specific (considerations for a city that has to deal with mosquitoes and solid waste management) and have their advantages and disadvantages.

Through concerted effort from stakeholders we could identify the most appropriate solutions for our flooding problem and commit ourselves to implementing them. The people up there need a big push from those down here. Residents associations can begin to take up local actions to improve their drainage. Green roofs may be little far fetched but we can harvest rainwater for use. There could be challenges with porous paving but we can reduce the area of paved surfaces in our homes and have some greenery.

Perhaps instead of hoping the next rainy season will be moderate, we will not build in flood plains and we will desilt choked gutters. Perhaps instead of thinking the “ordinary” man has nothing to offer, technical experts could lend a listening ear. Perhaps instead of thinking the government/ assembly is to blame, the “ordinary” man can lend a helping hand. Perhaps our institutions could be well resourced to deliver on their mandate. Perhaps instead of waiting for the situation to get out of hand as always we can start fixing things now regular monitoring can be done.

SWITCH is saying we (society) already know the solutions so let’s do things differently now- let us put them in Action.

Click here to see pictures

The Strategic Planning Workshop will take place from 25 – 28th January, 2010.  The workshop will be opened on 25th January, 2010 at the Erata Hotel, East Legon, Accra.

LA members have been grouped under different working groups.

AIM: To finalise the strategic plan for Integrated Urban Water Management for the city of Accra.

5th SWITCH Accra Learning Alliance General Meeting

Date: 24 -25th November 2009

Location: ERATA Hotel, Accra, Ghana

Description:

This meeting will be a continuation of the strategic planning process in the city. It will start with an update of ongoing research and demonstrations from researchers. This will inform the general LA members of th progress of work. A report on the strategic planning process will also be presented.

Registration: Bertha Darteh(berthadarteh@yahoo.co.uk), Henrietta Osei-Tutu(enreta@gmail.com)

Fee: Free

Click here to find out more about SWITCH Accra LA Activities

Date: 23-24 June 2009

Location: ERATA Hotel, Accra, Ghana

Description:

To achieve sustainable and healthy urban water environment the SWITCH project (www.switchurbanwater.eu) is undertaking research training and demonstration activities in Integrated Urban Water Management. The SWITCH Project employs the Learning Alliance approach in various cities around the world including Accra which is the only sub-Saharan African City. Since its official launching in 2007, the Accra LA has undertaken a number of meetings and training workshop. This meeting is the 4^th General meeting of the Accra Learning Alliance. This meeting will focus on the revisiting the vision, scenarios and strategic directions for the Accra LA and will validate results of research and institutional mapping. The results of the research will be applied to the development of the city strategic plan and the commitment of various stakeholders will be sought.

Target group: The Accra Learning Alliance members and other Ghana Water Sector professionals.

Language: English

Registration: Prof. Esi Awuah (esiawuahrt@yahoo.com) (shrool@hotmail.com) and David Assan

Fee info: Free of charge

for more information click here

The Accra Mayor said he would ensure that Accra had regular water and
electricity supply, clean environment and good roads, effective
drainage system and good private and public toilets.

Dr Vanderpuije was speaking at the first joint four-day meeting
between AMA and a delegation of the Earth Institute of the Columbia
University, to deliberate on how to develop Accra into a Millennium
city, which commenced in Accra on Saturday.

He said challenges were opportunities that could be turned into
benefits and profitable events and noted: “we live in the 21st Century
and we cannot deny our people development. AMA has a responsibility to
drive the edges and bring development to our people”

The Mayor told the delegation that Accra had problems including AMA’s
inability to manage solid and liquid waste and said: “it is so
embarrassing how liquid waste is disposed off in the country”.

Dr. Vanderpuije said this resulted in the malfunctioning of sewage
lines, constructed since Ghana’s Independence, which needed to be
replaced. He said AMA had a seven-point vision for Accra, which
included the decongestion of the city and improving sanitation,
housing, health and education.
Dr. Vanderpuije expressed worry about the standards of public schools,
saying that the shift system impeded academic work and that 2000 more
classroom needed to be built to accommodate more than 70,000 pupils in
the metropolis.

He said that: “We are committed and will roll our sleeves and tap into
your rich experiences to make Accra a city befitting it status” The
Accra Mayor said that efforts would be made to ensure that the people
in the city conducted themselves well, there was effective
transportation system, modern hospitals and good housing programme to
meet the accommodation needs of the people.

Led by Dr. Susan Blaustein, Co-Director of the Millennium City
Initiative (MCI), the delegation would identify practical solutions
facing Accra and examine the current situation in Accra as well as
study its history.

Based on knowledge that would be acquired and thoughtful exchange, the
experts would derive a set of policy recommendations that would
capitalizes on both teams’ wide ranging technical expertise, as well
as newly available technologies to ensure that the development of
Accra becomes a sustainable urban landmark.

The MCI is a set of activities initiated by the Millennium Project,
which was inaugurated by the former United Nations (UN) Secretary-
General Kofi Annan to recommend operational strategies to achieve the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agreed upon by world leaders at
the 2000 UN Summit. It is presently being implemented by the MDG
Support Team in the Poverty Group of the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP). The Millennium Villages Project is working in ten sub-
Saharan countries (now including Ghana) at the community level, to
advice city authorities on how to implement an integrated set of rural
interventions aimed at helping sub-subsistence farming communities to
achieve the MDGs. The MCI is initially focusing on advising the cities
in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), with a view to creating
employment, stimulating domestic enterprise development and fostering
sustainable economic growth.

Dr. Blaustein, who designed the MCI together with Earth Institute
Director Jeffrey D. Sachs and Co-Director Karl P. Sauvant, said the
MCI was an innovative set of intervention aimed at helping African
countries to attract sufficient income generating investment to enable
them to achieve the MDGs by 2015.

She said the partnership would work especially in the areas of health
and education and noted that a pilot study on these areas had started
in Kumasi with low cost intervention in neonatal mortality and early
childhood education.

Dr. Blaustein said there was an investment component to the
partnership.

“A New Accra for a Better Ghana”, Campaign was launched by the Mayor
on December 3 this year, where he announced that Accra had been
selected to be transformed into a Millennium City by the Earth
Institute of the Columbia University.

Under the project the Earth Institute will partner with the AMA to
address some of the city’s urban and environmental challenges and help
residents achieve the millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The
initiative is being directed by a development economist Dr. Jeffrey
Sachs, who is expected to declare Accra as a Millennium City on
January 15, 2010. The delegation would tour “Accra by night” on
Saturday and “Accra by Day” on Sunday 6 December

Accra, Dec 5, GNA
—————————————————————————————————————————–

1. What does the “Millennium city” mean?
2. For whom is the Millennium city?
3. Why should Accra aspire to be a Millennium city?
4. When should the Millennium city crystalise?
5. Who will be involved in making this Millennium city materialises?
6. Where will the Millennium city start and end?
7. How will the Millennium city evolve from the Accra we know and
have?
8. Which parts of Accra will start the process of becoming a
Millennium city?
9. How will the Millennium city relate to the rest of the country?
10. What if I don’t want Accra to be a “Millennium city”

Click to download a copy of the report

Title: Natural systems for drinking water and wastewater treatment

Date: 26-27 February 2009

Location: ERATA Hotel , Accra, Ghana

Description: Within the urban water cycle, natural systems can play important roles in both drinking water and wastewater treatment. Broadly, these include
more vegetation-based systems such as constructed wetlands and soil based systems that rely on soil passage and recovery. Natural systems are attractive because of their low cost and sustainability, and are important barriers within a semi-closed cycle promoting wastewater reclamation/reuse. This course will focus on the concepts and practice of Soil Aquifer Treatment (SAT) and River Bank Filtration (RBF) and will examine the potential to apply such techniques in Ghana and other proximate countries.

Target group: The Accra Learning Alliance and other Ghana Water Sector professionals.

Language: English

Registration: Gary Amy (g.amy@unesco-ihe.org) and Esi Awuah (esiawuahrt@yahoo.com)

Fee info: Free of charge

Click here to find out more: Flagbearers on Environmental sanitation

Support KNUST’s call for “Ghana – Clean and Green” and sponsor a call to a radio station in your region, city or town to alert politicians to give more commitment to environmental sanitation issues.

Find out more about some of the people we met at the Conference. Follow the link below

Click to see pictures from Conference