You see, we all to blame. When you concrete every space on your plot, you do not allow the rains to percolate into the soil. All the rain goes out into the street or drains not designed for it. And it overwhelms the drains. But the drains were never the real problem. We are.
We have declared war on soil. Look at any new house in Accra, Kumasi, or Takoradi. The compound is tiled edge to edge. The frontage is paved for cars. The backyard is concreted so “it won’t be muddy.” We call it neatness. Nature calls it suffocation.
Nature’s own engineering design
When rain falls on bare earth, the soil acts like a sponge. It drinks. It holds. It releases slowly into streams and underground aquifers over days. One acre of open ground can swallow over 100,000 liters (ten fuel tankers, ten Rambo 10,000 or 200,000 sachets) of water in a single storm, and you’d never see a puddle.
Man’s disruptions and the impact
When rain falls on your fully tiled compound, it hits, runs, and escapes. That same 100,000 liters now races to the street in 10 minutes. Multiply that by 500 houses in a neighborhood, all doing the same thing, and you’ve just created a flash flood with your own hands.
The drain at the roadside was designed in 1988 for a community of grass and gardens. Today it’s being asked to swallow the runoff of a small airport. It fails. We blame the Assembly.
We pave our plots because we fear mud, weeds, and insects. But in solving a minor inconvenience, we created a major disaster. The irony is brutal: the more we “develop” our individual plots, the more we collectively under develop our city. Every bag of cement we use to seal the earth is a vote for floods in June.
Institutionalization of runoff
This isn’t just a homeowner problem. Look at our churches, schools, and fuel stations. Sea of concrete, zero grass. Look at our new markets. Lorry parks tiled like banking halls.We have institutionalized runoff. We design for cars, not for clouds. Then we gather in those same flooded churches to pray for God to stop the rain.
The Solution
The fix is not concrete. The fix is porosity.
1. Leave 30% of your plot unpaved: Grass, gravel, or permeable blocks. Let the earth breathe and drink.
2. Install soakaways: A simple 1m x 1m gravel pit at your downpipe can capture 1,000 liters and force it into the ground.
3. Demand detention basins in every estate: If the developer won’t leave green space, don’t buy.
4. Government must lead: No building permit unless your drawings show where your rainwater will go, inside your plot, not just into the gutter.
Lessons from China
China builds 200km expressways with detention basins every 2km because they understand this math. We build 20m driveways with zero soakage and act surprised when the road becomes a river.
The hard truth
The truth is harsh but simple: drains don’t cause floods. Roofs and concrete do. And every single one of us holds a piece of that concrete.
So next time the rains come, and the street turns to a stream, don’t just curse the Assembly. Walk to your gate and look down. If your feet are dry because your entire compound is tiled, you are standing on the reason your neighbor’s room is underwater.
We are all to blame. Now ask yourself: how much of Accra’s floodwater came from your compound this June?
If that question makes you uncomfortable, good. Own it.
If this opened your eyes, share it. If it changed your mind, tell someone.