Environmental Engineer Dr. Juliet Ohemeng-Ntiamoah, has called for a complete rethink of Ghana’s drainage infrastructure, arguing that the country’s recurring floods cannot be solved through clean-up exercises or by attributing the problem primarily to indiscriminate waste disposal.Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, July 11, Dr. Ohemeng-Ntiamoah said Ghana must adopt modern stormwater management practices that anticipate extreme weather events and address the structural weaknesses in the country’s drainage systems.“My main concern is that through the commentary from the Presidency and other government officials during and after the flood, it appears that we are elevating indiscipline or indiscriminate waste disposal as a major cause of the flooding, and I beg to differ with that,” she said.According to the environmental engineer, while poor waste disposal contributes to drainage challenges, it should not overshadow the more fundamental issues of inadequate infrastructure, poor urban planning and weak environmental protection.Central to Dr. Ohemeng-Ntiamoah’s argument is the need to overhaul Ghana’s drainage infrastructure to meet the demands of changing weather patterns and rapid urbanisation.She advocated for the adoption of the internationally recognised “100-year flood” design standard, under which drainage systems are engineered to accommodate floods that have a one per cent probability of occurring in any given year.“We need to rethink our drainage system and be considering a 100-year flood,” she said.“This means designing systems that have the capacity to handle floods that have a one per cent chance of happening, and many cities are adopting this principle.”She explained that climate change is increasing the intensity of rainfall events around the world, making it necessary for cities to move beyond outdated drainage designs that can no longer cope with the volume of stormwater generated during heavy rains.According to her, investing in resilient drainage infrastructure would significantly reduce flood risks and improve the country’s preparedness for future extreme weather events.Dr. Ohemeng-Ntiamoah also questioned the effectiveness of periodic communal clean-up exercises as a long-term flood mitigation strategy.Although she acknowledged that communal labour has value in promoting civic responsibility and community participation, she argued that it does little to address the systemic weaknesses in urban sanitation and stormwater management.“I think we all agree that this clean-up is not a solution at all,” she said.“Communal work is good for community building and ownership, but when it comes to waste management or improving sanitation in the city, this does not solve it.”She maintained that sustainable flood management requires comprehensive planning, continuous infrastructure maintenance and evidence-based policies rather than emergency responses after disasters occur.The environmental engineer further identified increased surface runoff as one of the major drivers of urban flooding.She explained that the widespread replacement of natural ground surfaces with concrete, asphalt and tiled developments has drastically reduced the amount of rainfall that can naturally infiltrate the soil.Instead, rainwater flows rapidly across hard surfaces into drainage systems, overwhelming their capacity during intense storms.“The second point is increased runoff,” she noted.“In stormwater management, the first thing you need to do is to reduce runoff.”“Currently, we have a lot of developments that are all tiled and concrete, and they have really increased this runoff.”She suggested that future urban development should incorporate more permeable surfaces, green spaces and sustainable drainage features that slow the movement of stormwater and reduce pressure on drains.Dr. Ohemeng-Ntiamoah also called for stronger enforcement of environmental regulations protecting wetlands.While public discussions often refer to illegal construction in waterways, she argued that the issue should be viewed more broadly as a failure to preserve wetlands, which naturally store excess stormwater and reduce flooding.“And then we have lack of enforcement in protecting our wetlands, which people term as building in waterways, but I prefer to call it lack of enforcement in protecting our wetlands,” she said.She added that Ghana also lacks sufficient detention points—engineered facilities designed to temporarily hold excess rainwater during storms before gradually releasing it into drainage systems.According to her, expanding such infrastructure would significantly improve flood resilience.Dr. Ohemeng-Ntiamoah further challenged the widely held belief that plastic waste is the principal cause of blocked drains.She argued that sediment accumulation is often the primary factor reducing the capacity of drainage channels and trapping solid waste.“If you pay careful attention to the drainages that we have and what is choking them, you will realise that it is silt primarily before even waste,” she said.“Without silt occupying the gutters, the plastic bottles would all float, but it is the silt that is trapping all these waste in the gutters.”She explained that effective flood management should therefore include routine desilting, erosion control measures and proper maintenance of drainage infrastructure alongside improved waste collection systems.She maintained that reducing flood risks will require a combination of resilient drainage infrastructure, better stormwater management, stricter protection of wetlands, improved urban planning and stronger enforcement of environmental regulations.Rather than focusing predominantly on public indiscipline, she argued, policymakers should address the broader structural and engineering challenges that continue to leave Ghana’s cities vulnerable to flooding.According to her, only a comprehensive rethink of the country’s drainage systems and urban planning framework will provide lasting protection against increasingly severe flood events.