Lagos Traditional Ruler Warns Residents Against Cholera Outbreak, Soakaway Leaking In Public Water Pipes
Traditional ruler of Otumara community in Lagos Mainland Local Government of Lagos State, High Chief Kehinde Kalejaiye has warned residents in the state, against the outbreak of water-borne diseases including cholera due to indiscrimate construction of soakaway pits beside Lagos State Water Corporation pipelines.
Kalejaiye also warned residents in the state to desist from such acts as it could leak into the water pipe very and cause epidemic across the state.
The traditional ruler gave this warning following the violation of spacing requirement of 10 metres between the the septic tanks and water pipelines by site engineers and landlords in the Lagos Mainland area of the state particularly in Brickfield Street.
According to him, many of the newly constructed buildings in Lagos Mainland violate this very important rule with their owners constructing their soakaway pits indiscriminately almost on the tarred roads and beside water pipelines.
Speaking on the dangers of such inhuman and selfish act, Kalejaiye disclosed that there could be leakages from the soakaway pits into the water pipelines and this could cause breakout of cholera and other water-borne diseases.
He however called on the Lagos State Water Corporation, Ministry of the Environment, the State Building Control Agency and other relevant agencies to intervene and save residents in the state from breakout of epidemic.
He said, “In providing septic tanks for the use of residents in their houses, many developers and landlords construct their soakaway pits too close to the public water pipelines and this is likely to cause leakage into the pipelines and outbreak of water-borne diseases such as cholera.
This is a common practice in Brickfield area of Lagos Mainland where builders indiscriminately construct soakaway pits without any recourse to the safety of other residents.
They channel their soakaway pits through the public water pipelines so close that stench and waste water from the soakaway pits can easily leak into the water pipeline and poison it and unsuspecting residents could consume without knowing.
This practice of digging soakaway pits indiscriminately come with several health risks that if left unchecked, it will cause public health crisis.
Lack of attention to spacing requirements have resulted in soakaway pits being dug at inappropriate proximity with Lagos State Water Corporation pipelines.
If a water pipelines is too close to a soak away there will definitely be a leakage either now or in the future therefore there must be a minimum distance of 10 metres from the water pipes away from the septic tank.
This and more are some of the requirements the state water corporation should be on the lookout for. They must ensure the protection of lives and wellness of the public and not allow careless landlords and developers jeopardise public health.
The government must sanction erring landlords and ensure they bind their soakaway pits and construct them faraway from public water pipelines to avoid leakages. This is important to safeguard public health and possible outbreak of cholera and other water-borne diseases in the state.”
Views: 0
