Councillor offers solution to flash flood problems

A councillor has called on Mayo County Council to open up storm drains in times of heavy rainfall.

Cllr John O’Malley raised the issue at a recent meeting of the Westport-Belmullet Municipal District. he believes it is a “very easy” solution when it comes to flooding.

“It’s a serious problem, but it’s a very easy problem to solve, and that’s water tables," he remarked. "You know all the rain we’ve gotten, I was going down the Golf Course Road yesterday after all that rain and there were flash floods everywhere, and it’s only a matter of opening a water table."

Cllr O’Malley added: “If I had time I’d do them myself because if you’re waiting for the council to come out and open a water table, you’d be waiting a long time. Some of these flashes would pull you off the road because you’re not expecting it to be there as the water should be gone. You can see the inlet for the water table is blocked and it just needs to be let off.”