Before You Buy That Property, Follow the Water
Most property buyers in Nigeria ask the right questions about the building, title, structures, finishing, price.
Very few ask about the water.
Not the water inside the building, the water outside it, where it comes from, where it flows, where it collects, where it eventually goes. That journey, traced carefully before a purchase, tells you more about a property’s climate risk than almost anything else about the building itself.
Engr. Onyekachi Darlington made this point directly at a recent climate and real estate session attended by Green Realty Africa. The concept he introduced, the water journey is one of the most practical tools any buyer or developer can apply to a site before committing to it.
Tracing the Journey
Start with the terrain. Is the land flat? Does it slope toward or away from the building? Properties sitting in natural low points collect water from surrounding areas during heavy rainfall. That water has to go somewhere, If drainage does not move it away quickly, it goes into the building.
Look at the drainage channels around the site, are they maintained or blocked? Drainage choked with solid waste which describes a significant proportion of drainage channels across Lagos, Port Harcourt, and other Nigerian cities is not drainage. It is a flood waiting for the right rainfall to trigger it.
Consider neighbouring properties. Runoff from adjacent compounds, roads, and rooftops all contributes to the water arriving at any site during heavy rainfall. A property with excellent internal drainage can still flood if it sits at the bottom of a slope concentrating water from surrounding areas.
Check the access roads. A building that is structurally sound and well-drained is still a problem if the road leading to it becomes impassable every rainy season. For tenants, businesses, and emergency access, a flooded access road is a failed property regardless of the building itself.
The Questions to Ask
Where does roof water discharge? A building channelling roof runoff onto the compound without drainage consideration simply moves the flooding problem from outside to inside.
Has this area flooded before? Flood history is the most honest indicator of flood risk. Ask neighbours. Check social media records from past rainy seasons, the pattern is usually consistent.
Does the compound allow any water infiltration? Fully paved compounds with no permeable surface force all rainfall into surface runoff that has to go somewhere.
How much water is the drainage designed to handle? “Adequate drainage” means nothing without a specification. Drainage adequate for moderate rainfall may be completely overwhelmed by the intense rainfall events becoming more common across Nigeria.
Darlington described a five-stage assessment framework moving from site selection through design, construction, commissioning, and into operation, each stage offering an opportunity to identify and address water management issues before they become crises. Most buyers and developers are engaging with these questions far too late in the process, if at all.
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Conclusion
Sometimes the biggest climate risk to a property is not inside the building. It is the journey water takes around it. Follow that journey before you sign, the answers will tell you more than any brochure.
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