NIWA to begin clearing water hyacinth around Lekki area
Done with clearing water hyacinth clogging the waterways in Ikorodu and Epe areas of Lagos, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has begun mobilization of workers and equipment to the Lekki area of Lagos to clear the waterways.
The Authority concentrated on clearing the waterways in Ikorodu area for about three months towards the end of 2019, because of the concentration of commercial ferry operations there, the head of marine operations, Stanley Onuoha told our correspondence in an interview in Lagos.
He said: “We started off with clearing the waterways of the migratory water weeds around Ikorodu, because it accumulates in a particular point, just like a basin and making access to the jetties difficult. And after clearing the place, people were able to access the jetties in Ikorodu and the other areas on the Island.
“After Ikorodu, we went to Epe in January and February 2020, because there are a lot of barging activities there. Besides supporting the commercial activities, it is also for safety reasons since there will always be large number of people in such areas. Now, we are trying to mobilse to areas around Lekki.
According to the marine operations manager, NIWA engages in a regular exercise of clearing the water hyacinths during the season of its appearance from October.
“You understand that water hyacinth as a weed is seasonal; from October –January, you have more of the infestation, because they migrate from other parts of the world.
“We begin to get the impact from October, and it peaks in December. We still see them in January and February, but at a point in time they go off from the country to elsewhere and some of them die and settle to the bottom of the water.
“It is a migratory weed that disturbs a lot of activities on the waterways. During the peak, users of the waterways like fishermen, ferry operators find it difficult to maneuver and to ply the waterways. So, this exercise of clearing the waterways helps,” Onuoha said.
The project is capital intensive, so it is done in phases, the head of marine noted.
