Assessment of Urban Flooding and Drainage Systems in Ebenezery Community, Egbeda Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Urban flooding continues to threaten fast-growing communities where drainage systems are weak or poorly kept up. This study looked at flooding and drainage conditions in Ebenezery, a community within Egbeda Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria. It set out to find how often flooding happens there, what drives it, how the drainage network is holding up, and how residents themselves view the causes and effects of the problem. Ebenezery was purposively chosen for the study, and 100 of its residents were reached through simple random sampling. A structured questionnaire supplied the primary data, supported by relevant literature and secondary records; the responses were then broken down using percentages, frequency counts, mean scores, and simple charts and tables. Flooding turned out to be an almost annual event for 84% of respondents. Just over half (55%) described local drainage as poor, 30% called it fair, and only 15% rated it good. Residents pointed to careless waste dumping in drains, weak maintenance culture, badly designed channels, and unchecked urban growth as the chief reasons drainage keeps failing, while 70% named heavy rainfall as the immediate trigger of flood events. Disrupted movement was by far the most common consequence reported (80%), ahead of property damage, road deterioration, and health complaints. Taken together, the results point to a community where intense rainfall meets an under-maintained, poorly planned drainage system and inadequate waste management. Better-built and better-maintained drainage, stronger solid-waste practices, firmer enforcement of planning rules, public sensitisation, and active resident involvement are recommended as ways to bring the flood risk down.