Lagos — It is common to see sewage being emptied into the lagoon in Lagos on a daily basis, especially in areas like Ijora-Badia, Lagos Island , Iddo, Makoko-Iwaye in Bariga, Tolu in Ajegunle and Ajegunle near Mile 12 along Ikorodu Road just to mention a few.

With a population estimated at 17.56 million in 2006 and at five per cent growth rate, Lagos State is expected to be home to over 20 million people this year. This indicates a likely increase in the volume of sewage generated daily in the state.

Indeed the issue of sewage is complicated; as a result of improper disposal; it ends up polluting underground water, contaminating supposedly potable water in parts of the state. This portends grave health danger to the people of the state, especially in a situation where a majority of residents rely on well and borehole water.

However, sewage management has assumed increasing importance lately as a result of general concern expressed worldwide about wider problems of pollution of the environment, contamination of the atmosphere, rivers, lakes, oceans and groundwater by domestic, municipal, agricultural as well as industrial waste.

This is because the origin, composition and quantity of sewage and wastewater have direct correlation to existing life patterns.

Over 60,000 sewage trucks are said to ply Lagos roads six times per day to transport the sewage to treatment plants. Thus, a more practical approach that will provide sewer networks for transportation to environmentally friendly designed sewage treatment plants is needed and fast too.

At the maiden Lagos State Sewage and Wastewater Summit with the theme: "Sewage and Wastewater Management in Lagos: Charting a New Course", Governor Babatunde Fshola said that environmental, health and related consequences of failure to respond to the problem of improper sewage management would be pollution of ground water. This is more so the case since many get their potable water through boreholes, and "that compels all of us to act".

Continuing, the Governor represented by his deputy, Adebis Sosan, said the state needs about at $2b to manage its sewage system in the next five years.

"No government can afford this by itself, there must of necessity, be a sweeping overview of what is required by all stakeholders, donor agencies, investors and financiers for accelerated development and sustained economic and environment policies in the sewage sector. That, in a nutshell forms the crux of this summit," he stated.

However, as a first step, he stated that the three existing sewage treatment plants located at Oke-Afa, Abesan and Iponri parts of the state are currently undergoing rehabilitation and modification to improve on their capacity, enhance performance and make them act as receptacles for waste evacuated from septic tanks all over the state.

"To discourage discharge of raw waste into our water bodies by sewage tank operators, also the treatment plant at Alausa is being rehabilitated and upgraded to meet current waste water generation," he assured.

Fashola further said that a state of the art sewage treatment plant designed service 500,000 to one million people will be constructed by cost the government at over N2b. He added that the over 18 million people in the state will require over 30 mega sewage treatment plants, excluding sewer networks all over the state in the next five years.

"The cliché that sewage is a business venture is very true and the state intends to network with the Federal Government and other states in order to create awareness and expand the scope of collaboration between the states and the international community to eliminate the diverse impacts of inappropriate sewage management and harness the resource value of end and byproducts of the process, using technologies which have been tested worldwide," he stated.

Commissioner for Environment, Muiz Banire, noted; "this importance aspect of our life has come under scrutiny and the result has been most unsatisfactory, the fact that it is a vital function which is universal to forms of life underscores the importance of this significant and essential aspect of our life, which has been grossly neglected in the past."

He noted that appropriated management of sewage and wastewater generated, is far more important than was previously thought and that now with better understanding, it is a fact that consequences of inaction is life threatening and a time bomb ready to explode.

The forum was a key component of the Ministry Health's sensitisation programme on sewage and wastewater management and governance in the state.

"The main objective of the summit was to create an avenue for in-depth discussion and analysis of issues and draw people's attention to sewage and wastewater management on the state".

At the end, a communiqué was issued with the following recommendations; that government should embark on aggressive infrastructure and resource investment in wastewater and sewage management issues and treatment facilities at all levels; Sustainable sewage sanitation strategy policy should be finalised and adopted by the State Executive Council; establishment of a state action plan for the implementation of SSSS; government to develop and adopt a Sewage Master Plan (SMP) for the entire state with a 20-year framework and enactment of appropriate legal framework for sustainable management of sewage and wastewater.

Others were that government should strongly consider the creation of a sewage and wastewater management authority, wastewater and sewage management policy be implemented across all tiers of government and a full inventory of all existing infrastructure of sewage in the state among others.