Environmental Engineer, Dr. Juliet Ohemeng-Ntiamoah, has challenged the growing narrative that indiscriminate waste disposal is the primary cause of Ghana's recurring floods, argui
The report indicates that environmental engineer, Dr. Juliet Ohemeng-Ntiamoah, has challenged the growing narrative that indiscriminate waste disposal is the primary cause of Ghana’s recurring floods, arguing instead that the country’s flooding crisis stems from deeper structural and planning failures that require long-term engineering solutions.
It further notes that speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile programme on Saturday, July 11, Dr. Ohemeng-Ntiamoah cautioned against what she described as an increasing tendency by government officials to elevate poor sanitation as the dominant explanation for flood disasters.
“My main concern is that through the commentary from the presidency and other government officials during and after the flood, it appears that we are elevating indiscipline or indiscriminate waste disposal as a major cause of the flooding, and I beg to differ with that,” she stated.
While acknowledging the importance of maintaining clean communities, Dr. Ohemeng-Ntiamoah argued that regular clean-up exercises and communal labour should not be mistaken for sustainable flood management strategies.
“I think we all agree that this clean-up is not a solution at all,” she said.
According to her, communal labour plays an important role in promoting community ownership and social cohesion but offers little in addressing the systemic weaknesses in urban sanitation and stormwater management.
“Communal work is good for community building and ownership, but when it comes to waste management or improving sanitation in the city, this does not solve it,” she explained.
Instead of relying on periodic cleanup campaigns after major flooding incidents, she urged policymakers to adopt evidence-based engineering and planning approaches that address the root causes of urban flooding.
Central to Dr. Ohemeng-Ntiamoah’s recommendations is the need for Ghana to redesign its drainage infrastructure using internationally accepted standards that account for increasingly extreme weather events.
“We need to rethink our drainage system and be considering a 100-year flood,” she said.
She explained that designing for a 100-year flood means constructing drainage systems capable of managing flood events with a one per cent probability of occurring in any given year.
According to the environmental engineer, many cities around the world have already adopted this principle as part of climate-resilient urban planning, enabling them to withstand increasingly intense rainfall associated with climate change.
She emphasised that Ghana must begin planning beyond current rainfall patterns if it hopes to build resilient cities capable of coping with future extreme weather events.
Beyond drainage infrastructure, Dr. Ohemeng-Ntiamoah identified increasing stormwater runoff resulting from rapid urbanisation as another major contributor to flooding.
