In Ghana, development has become so rampant that the Government agencies can not keep up with infrastructure development.
For this reason, developers and private individuals have taken to developing anyhow and anywhere there is land. Currently, the trend has moved on to reclaiming of
detention pond areas by these developers for the purpose of building structures. Taking Kpeshie Lagoon area which is slowly been reclaimed by developers and private individuals and it has now started slowly reducing the volume and surface area of the lagoon. What is shocking about this phenomenon is that most of the developers are experts who know the use of the detention ponds in that area as a retention pond for the Kpeshie drain basin including its two main tributaries before entering the gulf of guinea (sea). As this trend is allowed, the upstream areas are now becoming prone to floods as it will take a long time for the drain to flow to the sea (taking tidal levels also into consideration). Detention ponds are manmade or natural (lagoon) occurring ponds designed to hold water for a period before releasing to a stream or the sea at controlled flows and volumes. Its size in terms of manmade ponds is based on the volume of water it will receive during peak flows. Reducing its size affects the volume and therefore it having a backflow effect in the drain going back upstream of the drain. The future consequences of this current action by developers are being highlighted daily by media men periodically with evidence showing some of the offenders in the process. It is some what unbelievable that the
governing agents who have been furnished with this information still remain silent on the matter till it becomes a big problem before a solution is sort for. It is often believed that the governing agents themselves approve these sites to contractors and developers to deposit rubble from other work sites hence they doing it in the full view of people.