The Environmental Impact of Flooding on Transportation Land Use in Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract

Environmental problems of flooding on transportation land use manifest as a result of different land use activities of man to earn his living and his livelihood. Natural surfaces were replaced by more impermeable roads and concrete which have very low infiltration capacity, which have hydrological consequences of resulting into flooding problems in the Benin City metropolis. Data for this study were collected through the administration of 200 questionnaires, using the random sampling technique on respondents and through the physical survey of the study area. Simple percentages were used to analyze the data. Two hypotheses were formulated. The student ‘t’ test statistical method was used to test the hypotheses. Results from this study show that illegal disposal of refuse on drainage channels, high intensity of rainfall, the absence or infective drainage channels, poor construction of roads and building of houses on stream channels were identified as the causes of flooding on transportation land use in the study area. The study recommends that good road construction works, controlled dump sites, and timely response of the Town Planning Authority to flooding menace should be carried out as a matter of urgency to tackle the environmental problems of flooding on transportation land use in Benin City, Nigeria.

Keywords: Environment, Impact, Flooding, and Transportation Land use