Councillors fearing repeat of flooding of Carrick-on-Suir homes press for river clean up

Carrick-on-Suir councillors voiced fears about residential areas in their hometown suffering flooding again if debris isn’t removed from the Mill River that flows near them.

That concern was highlighted by Sinn Féin Cllr David Dunne and Cllr Kieran Bourke at the monthly meeting of Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District where they called on the council to take action to clear vegetation and debris clogging up the River Suir tributary.

Cllr Dunne complained you can barely see a foot wide of water in the Mill River at the moment because it was so blocked up with debris including pallets.

He feared this situation will result in nearby Mill Street, which has a lot of elderly residents, being flooded again.

“It’s the lowest part of the town and residents there are onto us all the time. Even during the summer there was an issue.”

He pointed out the houses on Mill Street were owned by the council and called on the local authority to contact the Office of Public Works to clear the river.

Cllr Dunne reminded council management of the flooding that engulfed a large section of Carrick-on-Suir in late December 2015.

Mill Street was one of the areas flooded when the Mill River broke it banks.

“People are very nervous of the situation. We need to get that cleared out as soon as possible,” he added.

District Engineer Michael Scully responded that the Mill River was part of a Special Area of Conservation and the council was “very constrained” in what it could do in these areas.

“I would like to go in there with a chainsaw but I can't,” he said.

He said there needed to be a bigger solution for the whole country in relation to how you go about maintaining rivers without being hamstrung.

Cllr Dunne pointed out the work of clearing the Mill River was done over years and years.

He noted there was a lot of Japanese Knotweed on either side of the river bank and suggested the Council could even remove the pallets in the river or cut back trees along the river without interfering with the river.

“What you are having is a dam effect,” he explained of the build up of debris on the river.

He remembered the night the Mill River overflowed in 2015 with the force of the water blowing holes in walls and seeing one woman brought out of her house in a hospital bed and other elderly residents being brought out in blankets.

“I don’t want to witness those scenes again,” he declared.

Mr Scully responded that you can’t go near a river without an Environmental Impact Assessment being carried out.

Unfortunately the Council’s hands were tied about doing anything near the River Suir, he added.

Carrick-on-Suir Fianna Fáil Cllr Kieran Bourke rowed in behind Cllr Dunne in supporting his calls to clear the Mill River.

He reminded council management that the second report into the causes of the 2015 flooding in Carrick-on-Suir found that the Mill River was one of the major contributing factors to the flooding.

He pointed out Cllr Dunne was right that the Mill Street should be kept free of debris at all times because it was mentioned as a flooding factor in that report.

Cllr Bourke warned flooding will occur again on the Mill River at times of heavy rain and high tides if works aren’t carried out to keep it clear of vegetation and debris.

The council should at least be seen to be vigilant and responsible and try to minimise a potential repeat of what happened there again, he argued.

Mr Scully acknowledged what the councillors were saying but he unfortunately had to follow the rules.
The issue the councillors were raising was a national issue that needed to be looked at by An Coimisiún Pleanála.