West Mayo flooding 'will lead to loss of life'

There are concerns that lives will be lost unless flooding issues in West Mayo are addressed.

Cllr John O’Malley made the remarks at a meeting of Mayo County Council’s Environment and Climate Change Strategic Policy Committee (SPC).

The Kilmeena area experienced extensive flooding during the recent cold snap and stormy conditions and Cllr O’Malley believes the Mayour River needs to be cleaned urgently in order to address the problem. 

“An entire area flooded, roads and all. There were two roads into two villages and nobody could go in them. Some people couldn’t get in or out of their homes. And it’s all because the Mayour River is not cleaned. It’s just backed up completely. There are trees growing in it, the banks are coming away. The river itself has not been cleaned for at least 20 years,” said Cllr O’Malley.

He said he fears septic tanks that became flooded during the bad weather could now have an impact on water quality in the area. The Independent councillor is also concerned that “a life will be lost” unless something is done.

“I’m afraid that a life will be lost there. There were old people trapped in their homes for two whole days. Sooner or later someone will be trapped in their home and they will take the chance to go out for milk or bread, or the pharmacy, and they’ll get lost.

“There were several roads I couldn’t go through myself, I had a jeep, and I had to back off. If an older person tried to go through that and got stuck in the middle and stepped out they would be lost. And that’s what’s going to happen. We have to get some sort of a programme together for this flooding issue. It’s going on too long and it’s causing too much disruption to so many people."

Cllr Peter Flynn said a “serious discussion” needs to take place about how the county’s rivers are managed. He called for expert advice to be sought.