Week of the storms from hell
Farmers and householders in large swathes of South and East Galway are this week praying that the rains will ease off as floodwaters came close over the past few days to the disastrous November levels of 2009.
Thousands of acres of farmland are underwater in the Shannon Callows area while in the South Galway area of Ardrahan, Ballinderreen and Kilcolgan, up to 10 local roads are impassable.
Farm leaders have again hit out at Government and political representatives for what they describe as ‘a string of broken promises’ in relation to the putting in place of essential flood relief measures.
According to IFA National Flood Project Chairman and Shannon Callows farmer, Michael Silke, waters on the Shannon rose by six feet above the navigation level over the second half of December and through the early days of January.
“We are really just in the lap of the Gods at present. If the rains don’t ease off, we will be looking at a situation just as bad as what happened after the floods in November 2009.
“The people who live along the Shannon Callows are bitterly disappointed at the lack of active measures taken by the present Government in relation to this situation.
“They came into power on a series of promises to resolve once and for all the flooding problems of this area but they have just sat idly by, while people in this area go through another period of terrible hardship,” said Michael Silke.
He described the drainage policy across the Shannon area as ‘a complete mess’, pointing out that the lead agency involved in the flood relief measures – the OPW (Office of Public Works) – just didn’t have the legal clout to put any serious action plan in place.
“There are so many bodies with an input into this issue like the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Fisheries, the ESB and Inland Waterways, that no action ends up being taken.
“We as local farmers and householders are happy to see the OPW as the lead agency in this whole flood problem that has gone on for generations, but they must be given the legal clout to implement their plans,” said Michael Silke.
He added that report after report was piling up on the flooding problem without any basic remedial measures being put in place like the proper maintenance and cleaning of the main river channel.
“When we seek to put measures in place to relieve this problem we normally hear of two things – cost benefit analysis and the environment. The one thing that’s never factored in, is the level of human hardship being endured by the families living here,” said Michael Silke.
Unless the rains eased up, sheds, fodder stocks and in cases houses would be coming under threat, according to Michael Silke.
Mattie Hallinan, from Ballinderreen – a member of the Galway Flood Project Team – described the situation in South Galway this as very serious with up to 10 roads blocked while around 10 houses were coming under pressure due to rising water levels.
“The really frustrating aspect of this problem is that there are straightforward solutions that can be put in place in a very cost effective manner.
“For example, the widening and clearing of the Ballinderreen-Kiltiernan water channel to the sea would provide instant relief for flooding in this area – the water needs to get to the sea and this work must start from the sea back,” said Mattie Hallinan.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.