Farmers to meet over flooding in Shannon Callows

Recurring flood problems impacting on thousands of farmers and householders in the Shannon Callows area will be the focus of a public consultation day by the Office of Public Works (OPW) next week.

The consultation day – at the Shannon Harbour Community Hall, Shannon Harbour, Offaly (12 noon to 7.30pm) on Tuesday, February 10 – comes as special draft flood maps are being produced by the OPW.

The draft flood maps have been drawn up as part of Ireland’s requirements under the EU’s Floods Directive with the aim of providing a comprehensive flood risk assessment on 300 areas of significant flood risk.

Next Tuesday’s consultation day will focus on areas including Belmont, Banagher and south of Banagher along the Shannon taking in Meelick, Esker, Banagher and Clonfert.

“Work on the draft flood maps has involved extensive surveying and analysis of river flows and the development of computer models to determine how flooding occurs. Based on this work, a range of draft flood maps has been produced,” the OPW said in a statement issued this week.

According to the OPW, the drawing up of the draft flood plans – a task carried out by the Jacob Engineering group – is part of a process leading to the development of long-term, sustainable plans to reduce and manage flood risk.

The flood maps, the OPW state, ‘will be a vital step’ towards identifying potential solutions to reduce and manage the flood risk and are also important for other reasons such as:

• The flood maps will inform sustainable planning, to help ensure that we avoid building in flood prone areas into the future.
• The maps will inform the emergency response authorities to help ensure an effective response to reduce damage during flood events.
• Local residents and businesses will be able to determine if they are at risk from flooding, and if so, to be able to prepare for flood events. Practical advice on preparing for flood events is provided on www.flooding.ie.

“The maps have been developed using state-of-the-art technology and make use of all available information. However, local residents may have some information or knowledge that can further improve the flood maps. OPW wants to give people the opportunity to comment on the draft flood maps before they are finalised.

“Please come along on the day, view the draft maps and provide any comments you may have on them. You can make a formal submission on the maps at the public consultation.

“The CFRAM (National Catchment-based Flood Risk Assessment and Management Programme) project teams and OPW will consider all submissions made. Public consultation days for other locations deemed to be at risk of flooding in Co. Galway will be held in due course,” the OPW stated.