Polluting Water with a Veritable Source of Energy: the Situation in the Urban City of Lagos-Nigeria

Lagos is the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria experiencing rapid urbanisation. It is one of the mega cities of the world with an estimated population of 17.5 million. The Lagos Lagoon which is a notable water body in Lagos state has been a sewage disposal site for the past fifty years and the quantity of sewage wastes disposed daily into the Lagoon has greatly increased due to rapid population growth. The Lagoon serves as the major source of sea foods in Lagos and also confers beauty to the city. Like some other highly populated and sewage rich cities, Lagos state is yet to utilise her abundant sewage resources in scaling-up her energy supply instead of polluting her Lagoon. The aim of this paper is to elucidate the effects of disposing sewage waste into the Lagos Lagoon and the potential of the state generated sewage waste in meeting her formidable energy challenge.