No quick fix to flooding issues, says Louth County Council as ‘mutli-factorial- approach promised
At the monthly meeting of Dundalk Municipal District, councillors heard that continuous weather warnings for intense rainfall combined with high tides had created a “perfect storm” of coastal, river and sewer flooding across north Louth in recent weeks.
The greater Dundalk area, including the Cooley Peninsula and Blackrock has been worst affected by the severe weather in recent weeks
Director of Services for Operations and Environmental Delivery David Hanratty said the recent flooding issues highlighted “certain weaknesses in our flood management system.”
“We had flooding on rivers, coastal flooding, flooding in mountains and a surge in sewers. Obviously the volume of rain and the saturated ground contributed to all the land-based issues, but the coastal flooding was completely separate.”
He highlighted that storms had battered the coastline along Blackrock, north Louth, and in the south of the county.
“We had that perfect storm which was an issue,” he said, adding that a “huge amount of joined up thinking” was needed by several stakeholders to look at finding solutions.
He added that in the short term Louth County Council’s flood study team would assess any immediate interventions, and they will also be working with external stakeholders – the OPW, Uisce Éireann and various landowners to see what further solutions could be found.
“But, I want to be clear that there is no switch we can turn on on a pump that would solve the problem, there is no river we can dredge that will solve the problem straightaway.”
The local authority will look at a “multi-factorial” response to the flooding threats.
“It is something we are acutely aware of and over the coming weeks and months we will respond to.”
He added that the council are “learning the lessons” and are working to access any funding which becomes available.
A €1.2 million application has been made to the department to cover the costs of damage to the Louth road network, which the council are hopeful of securing at least some.
The Director said the council had to date received no applications to the Emergency Assistance Scheme, which is available to both residential properties and businesses adversely impacted by the storm.
“Which I suppose is a good thing that we are not getting a lot of people impacted,” he added, reminding councillors to make local people aware of the help that is available.
The meeting had heard calls for community support for elderly or vulnerable people living in flooded areas.
Mr. Hanratty said the council had placed the Civil Defence on standby, and the Red Cross had offered humanitarian assistance if needed.
The meeting followed confirmation that Louth County Council has submitted an application for €1.2 million to the department to cover the costs of damage to the Louth road network.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme