The Information Services Department (ISD) has reported that a risk assessment by the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council has linked the reclamation and development of portions of the Kpeshie Lagoon to the first major flooding recorded in the Tse Addo area.

According to the ISD, the assessment found that converting sections of the natural water retention basin into developed land had reduced the lagoon’s capacity to receive and retain excess water during heavy rainfall.

The finding has informed the ongoing intervention by the Post Flood Mitigation Task Force, which on Sunday demolished unauthorised structures built within the protected buffer zone of the lagoon at Laboma.

Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Ohenewaa Akweley Ocloo, said the assessment was conducted after the flooding in Tse Addo to establish the factors that contributed to the incident.

“We did a risk assessment and we realised that for the first time there was flooding at Tse Addo. It was because of these illegal structures,” she told the media at the demolition site.

She said portions of the lagoon had over the years been reclaimed through the removal of vegetation and the filling of the wetland with materials to create land for development.

According to the Minister, the area was originally a natural wetland covered with mangroves, but trees were cut down and sections of the lagoon filled before the land was sold to developers for the construction of hotels and other commercial facilities.

The Minister said the government subsequently engaged occupants of the affected properties and gave them a 21-day ultimatum to vacate the protected area to enable restoration and flood mitigation works to proceed.

The Task Force has since moved to enforce the directive, pulling down identified structures along the lagoon.

The exercise also targeted a newly constructed wall along the Labadi–Teshie Road, which had been erected to block off an area where vegetation had been cleared and filling with solid materials was ongoing.

The Minister said the exercise was aimed at securing the water retention basin and preventing further encroachment, adding that the demolition had so far proceeded peacefully.

The Kpeshie Lagoon is currently undergoing dredging by the 48 Engineer Regiment as part of the government’s post-flood mitigation programme.

The intervention forms part of a wider programme to restore waterways, retention basins and wetlands across Greater Accra to improve stormwater management and reduce the risk of flooding.

Authorities say the restoration of the lagoon and enforcement against further encroachment will continue as part of measures to protect lives and property in flood-prone communities.