Mayo flooding incident was 'terrifying'
Cllr Chris Maxwell called for urgent action.
Mayo County Council has been urged to clean out rivers in west Mayo after a "terrifying" flooding event in the Cregganbaun area earlier this month.
A meeting of Westport-Belmullet Municipal Council was told that flooding occurred on Friday, October 11, in the townlands of Shrarooskey and Woodfield, near Cregganbaun, which is about 10km south of Louisburgh. Independent Ireland Cllr Chris Maxwell said Mayo Co Council must take action to prevent this from happening again, noting that trees, branches and bushes need to be removed from the nearby rivers as part of a clean-up operation.
“I would hate to think what would have happened if an emergency vehicle needed to get to the area. It was a terrifying situation.”
Fine Gael Cllr Gerry Coyle said it was a "no-brainer" to clean out the rivers while Independent Cllr John O’Malley said other rivers would need to be cleaned out adjacent to the Great Western Greenway near Newport, as a section of the greenway has flooded.
Senior engineer Heather Gibbons said she understood the councillors' concerns "but the council's hands are tied" in relation to cleaning rivers. Any cleaning of the inner or outer bank would require an environmental study.
“That’s the remit we’re in, we have to have an environmental assessment."
Cllr Maxwell said he understood the council’s position but this approach was not good enough for the people affected by the flooding.
“What’s going to happen if these houses get flooded in the next month or two? What am I supposed to tell the people - that a feasibility study will be done next year?”
“I know your hands are tied but it’s time we stopped this and started doing the simple things. We don’t need a feasibility study to tell us that we need to remove trees from the river. Rules and regulations are driving people cuckoo.
“Fences were demolished, council roads have yet to dry out and there were bridges that could have been taken out. If the water rose any higher, there were sheep there that would have been gone. They would be outside in Broadhaven Bay,” he said.
Ms Gibbons said the council had to adhere to the regulations but she agreed to bring the matter to the attention of the council’s environmental staff.
