Industrial and Agricultural Pollution of Waterways in Lagos State

Abstract

There are many causes and sources of pollution of coastal waterways in Lagos State, apart from different domestic and other anthropogenic activities. The industrial and agricultural sectors account for major contamination of water sources in the state. In this paper, I examine the various ways manufacturing industries and agriculture heavily impact waterways in Lagos. The aim of the research is to show that traditional industrial and agricultural practices and activities, as aspects of economic pursuits of the people of Lagos from time immemorial, did not hugely degrade the water environment.However, modern industrial and agricultural practices have contributed immensely to water environment pollution. The paper argues that the types of industries, and the method of farming that existed in the pre-colonial era, varied from what is  in practice and contributed much to the degradation of waterbodies in the state. The work covers the pre-colonial period to the post-colonial. It is significant because it compares the three different periods and argues that colonial and post-colonial periods ushered in modern industrial and agricultural methods that exponentially worsened the degradation of coastal waters in the state. The paper shows how contamination of local waterways can be traced to industries and other polluters and how focusing on these primary causes can be instrumental in reducing the impact of degradation in the coastal environment, thereby improving the livelihood of the inhabitants living in the riparian zones, who depend on coastal resources for their survival. The paper makes recommendations on how pollution of the waterways can be reduced and concludes by highlighting how advanced countries have used modern methods in pollution control and the Polluter-Pay-Principle PPP to check pollution of local waterways.