THE SCOUT ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA

NIGERIA NATIONAL SCOUT ORGANIZATION

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION PROGRAMS

FLOOD CONTROLS Compiled for our knowledge by: Olusoga Sofolahan-Atibioke (Olori

Omo-Oba)(LT/MT)

CONVOCATION

A flood is an overflow of water that submerges land which is normally

dry. The European Union (EU) Floods Directive defines a flood as a

covering by water of land not normally covered by water.

In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the

inflow of the tide. Flooding may occur as an overflow of water from

water bodies, such as a river or lake, in which the water overtops or

breaks levees, resulting in some of that water escaping its usual

boundaries, or it may occur due to an accumulation of rainwater on

saturated ground in an areal flood.

While the size of a lake or other body of water will vary with seasonal

changes in precipitation and snow melt, these changes in size are

unlikely to be considered significant unless they flood property or

drown domestic animals.

Floods can also occur in rivers when the flow rate exceeds the

capacity of the river channel, particularly at bends or meanders in the

waterway. Floods often cause damage to homes and businesses if

they are in the natural flood plains of rivers. While riverine flood

damage can be eliminated by moving away from rivers and other

bodies of water, people have traditionally lived and worked by rivers

because the land is usually flat and fertile and because rivers provide

easy travel and access to commerce and industry.

Some Flood Photographs received from Nigeria Television

Authority (NTA) on the 21st

of September 2013, 9:00PM

Network News.

FLOOD CONTROLS & OUR CONTRIBUTIONS AS SCOUTS

In many countries around the world, waterways prone to floods are

often carefully managed. Defenses such as detention basins, levees,

bunds, reservoirs, and weirs are used to prevent waterways from

overflowing their banks. When these defenses fail, emergency

measures such as sandbags or portable inflatable tubes are often

used to try and stem flooding. Coastal flooding has been addressed in

portions of Europe and the Americas with coastal defenses, such as

sea walls, beach nourishment, and barrier islands.

In the near rivers and streams, erosion control measures can be taken

to try and slow down or reverse the natural forces that cause many

waterways to meander over long periods of time. Flood controls, such

as dams, can be built and maintained over time to try and reduce the

occurrence and severity of floods as well.

In areas prone to urban flooding, one solution is the repair and

expansion of man-made sewer systems and storm-water

infrastructure. Another strategy is to reduce impervious surfaces in

streets, parking lots and buildings through natural drainage channels,

porous paving, and wetlands (collectively known as green

infrastructure or sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS).

Areas identified as flood-prone can be converted into parks and

playgrounds that can tolerate occasional flooding. Ordinances can be

adopted to require developers to retain storm-water on site and

require buildings to be elevated, protected by floodwalls and levees,

or designed to withstand temporary inundation. Property owners can

also invest in solutions themselves, such as re-landscaping their

property to take the flow of water away from their building and

installing rain barrels, sump pumps and check valves.

CONTROL OF FLOODS:

Some methods of flood control have been practiced since ancient

times. These methods include planting vegetation to retain extra

water, terracing hillsides to slow flow downhill, and the construction

of floodways (man-made channels to divert floodwater). Other

techniques include the construction of levees, lakes, dams, reservoirs

or retention ponds to hold extra water during times of flooding.

METHODS OF CONTROLS:

1. Temporary Perimeter Barriers: In 1988, a method of using water

to control was discovered. This was accomplished by containing

2 parallel tubes within a third outer tube. When filled, this

structure formed a non-rolling wall of water that can control

75% of its height in external water depth, with dry ground

behind it.

2. Dams: Many dams and their associated reservoirs are designed

completely or partially to aid in flood protection and control.

Many large dams have flood-control reservations in which the

level of a reservoir must be kept below a certain elevation

before the onset of the rainy/summer melt season so as to allow

a certain amount of space in which floodwaters can fill.

3. Self-closing flood barrier: The self-closing flood barrier (SCFB) is

a flood defense system to protect people and property from

inland waterway floods caused by heavy rainfall, gales or rapid

melting snow. The SCFB can be built to protect residential

properties and whole communities, as well as industrial or other

strategic areas.

4. River defenses: In many countries, rivers are prone to floods and

are often carefully managed. Defenses such as levees, bunds,

reservoirs, and weirs are used to prevent rivers from bursting

their banks. When these defenses fail, emergency measures such

as sandbags or portable inflatable tubes are used.

5. Tide gates: Tide gates are used in conjunction with dykes and

culverts. They can be placed at the mouth of streams or small

rivers, where an estuary begins or where tributary streams, or

drainage ditches connect to sloughs. Tide gates close during

incoming tides to prevent tidal waters from moving upland, and

open during outgoing tides to allow waters to drain out via the

culvert and into the estuary side of the dike. The opening and

closing of the gates is driven by a difference in water level on

either side of the gate.

WHAT CAN WE DO AS MEMBERS OF THE SCOUT

ORGANIZATION OF NIGERIA?

According to the Founder of Scouting Movement, Lord Robert

Stephenson Baden Powell (Chief Scout of the World): He defined

“Peace as not only the absence of War, but our relationships

with Nature and our Environment”

Flood eradication project has been identified as one of the numerous

Messengers of Peace Projects.

How do we eradicate Flooding?

1. By Trees planting- Our Goal in the Nigeria NSO will focus at

plating many trees that will serve as Shelter against Ozone layers

that have been depleting years back.

2. Planting Trees within Flood prone areas so as to cushioning the

effect of erosions during rainy season.

3. Clean our various Waterways like Gutters, Under-bridges and

drain ways, so as to allow free flow of Rain water from smaller

canals to bigger channels.

4. Create Awareness on the need to start to prevent Flooding from

happening. The awareness should be done in concert with the

Government of your State Scout Council and other Voluntary

Organizations.

5. Encourage Government to build Drainages and Dams that could

accommodate Flooding Water and for conversions into Water

for Plants irrigations.

6. Campaign against people dumping refuges in drainages so as not

to block the Waterways.

All the above Six Projects could be done under your Districts,

Divisions (Area/Provincial), and States Messengers of Peace (MoP)

Coordination.

Let me conclude by saying:

“PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE”……Equation 1

Mathematically, If Scouting represented with (X) is with the Vision of

Creating Real Contributions towards making this World a better place;

and she is looking at Preventive Solutions against some anti-Peace

issues and concerns.

Equally we have other Organizations (YZ) too that are very good at

providing Support/Solutions when there are Catastrophes.

• If Scouting Organization X is working Preventives…….Equation 2

• Other Organizations YZ are working Curatives………Equation 3

• By factoring in Equation 1 into Equations 2 & 3, we will have:

• Scouting Organization X is better than YZ Organization....Equation 4