It is hoped an offshoot of the project that will pipe water from Shannon to Dublin will alleviate some of the strain
Landlocked Westmeath may escape rising seas, but, in an apparent case of extreme irony, its two biggest climate risks are flooding and water shortages.
That’s according to Ambrose Clarke, a senior engineer in the council’s environment, climate action and rural water section, who says around three quarters of the county’s water comes from the Mullingar-Lough Owel supply.
Last year, Mr Clarke said the lake the supply came from had dropped, putting the county on a hosepipe ban from May until October.
“This has been identified as a climate change problem,” he said.
While much of Ireland is getting more frequent and intense rains as a result of rising emissions, Mr Clarke said Westmeath was drier than typical last year.
“For the nine months prior to the hosepipe ban, we had probably two thirds of the rainfall in Co Westmeath than we had in the preceding years,” he said.
Westmeath was under a hosepipe ban for over four months last year. Photo: PA
“Long term, flooding and provision of water will be the two main things we’ll have to deal with as a local authority. But Uisce Éireann is in charge of the water, so they’ll really be doing the running on futureproofing our water supply.”
Mr Clarke believes the authority’s plan to pipe water from the River Shannon to Dublin could be the answer to Westmeath’s problems.
“They have plans to run a water main from the Parteen Weir to Dublin, with a spur to Mullingar town supply so that it can shore up that in the future,” he said.
Roads impassable near Athlone, Co Westmeath, due to the flooding of the Shannon in 2015. Photo: Hany Marzouk
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While the multibillion-euro proposal, if approved, may solve water shortages for the county, Westmeath County Council still has work to do.
According to council’s Climate Action Plan, Westmeath generated 1,639,108 tonnes of greenhouse gases in the baseline year of 2018.
Agriculture is the county’s biggest emitter, accounting for 40pc of total emissions, followed by the transport (21pc) and residential (16pc) sectors.
Farmers successfully derailed the council’s first action plan attempt, but farming is now feeling the sting of rising greenhouse gases.
According to council analysis, Westmeath experienced drought in 2018 and 2021, and is facing into more heatwaves and increasingly severe storms.
The proposed route for the pipeline bringing water from the Shannon to Dublin
Meanwhile, floods have resulted in “damaged residential properties, farmland and recreational areas; closure of businesses; and disruption of transport”.
These impacts are projected to grow more severe and, according to the action plan, “as the population ages, there will be an increase in the number of vulnerable people exposed to heat-related risks”.
To increase resilience, the council had to plan for and adapt to current and future climate risks, but it must also find ways to reduce the pollution causing the crisis in the first place.
That will involve measures including encouraging active travel through safe school routes, supporting bus services in Athlone and Mullingar, and developing the Old Rail Trail and Royal Canal greenways.
“We’re trying to bring in cycle routes, but people are saying it’s very wet,” Mr Clarke said. “Denmark would be actually wetter than Ireland and they do a lot of cycling. It’s a culture shift.
“A lot of [car] trips are three to five minutes, which could easily be walked or cycled.”
We’re looking at switching to hydrotreated vegetable oil in the new year, but it’s a stop-gap solution
He says the council is “on target” to meet its 2030 climate commitments, having replaced 80pc of streetlights with LEDs and retrofitted 66pc of homes to various ratings. It is also installing photovoltaic panels and is working with SEAI on a Pathfinder project to reduce energy use.
But, even with the council tackling the “low-hanging fruit”, making big changes is getting harder and harder – like in the case of fleet management.
“The funds it would take to convert the fleet are substantial, so we’re looking at switching to [hydrotreated vegetable oil] in the new year and we’re making targets that way,” Mr Clarke said. “But it is a stop-gap solution.”
Seamus Hoyne, a sustainable energy expert at Technological University of the Shannon agrees.
“That’s an investment challenge,” he said. “The technologies are there to decarbonise our buildings and transport fleets, but local authorities have a fixed amount of funds. They have to try and integrate that into their planning and deal with new developments. It’s challenging.”
Biodiversity is also a key issue in the county, with some councillors facing criticism for their attitudes to cutting down trees and hedgerows that provide refuge for wildlife, reduce greenhouse gases and help alleviate flooding.
A mature tree suffering from ash dieback. Photo: Roger Jones
“That doesn’t mean people in the environmental section share the same opinion,” Mr Clarke said. “We have employed University College Dublin experts and we’re producing key management guidelines.”
These guidelines, which will be available to all landowners and the council when finished, will outline what should be done in case of outbreaks like ash dieback. But Mr Clarke said that, generally, “there’s no need to be taking down trees. We need to increase our canopy cover”.
Groups like Tyrellspass Tidy Towns and Westmeath Environmental and Climate Action Network are working in this space, and Mr Clarke said the council “will be introducing new planning restrictions and checking on sites to make sure they are protecting trees”.
He said the council is also working to reduce flooding by replacing concrete areas with natural materials and installing sustainable urban drainage systems like rain gardens.
“Things are changing rapidly,” Mr Hoyne said. “[The council] have to do things immediately, but also plan for the future.
“That’s a particular challenge for any organisation to deal with.”
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
Additional reporting by Shauna Corr