Increase in Kilrush flash flooding

Kilrush town engineer Derek Troy told last week’s monthly meeting of Kilrush Town Council that several factors have combined to create regular instances of flash flooding in the town in recent years.

He was commenting following a request from Councillor Tom Prendeville for a report on recurring flash flooding in the town and for details of the emergency plan in place to respond rapidly to such situations.
“The occurrence of flash flooding in Kilrush town and throughout the country, even in the summer months, has increased in recent years due to a number of factors. Increased rainfall volumes over shorter periods of time, improved land drainage and increased hard-surface areas surface water run-off within residential and commercial developments, have all contributed to the flooding,” Mr Troy replied.
“In the last three years, surface water attenuation systems have been requested at the planning stage of all new large developments. These systems control the rate of flow of surface water from each development site. Improvement works have been undertaken at various locations in Kilrush town, including the removal of pinch-points in the storm water system. Sections of the old Vandeleur surface water system, that have been damaged or blocked, have been put back into use,” the town engineer added.
Clare County Council has developed an emergency plan to deal with flooding issues. Emergency calls outside normal working hours go to an emergency number, where on-call staff deal with the issue.
Meanwhile, Councillor Paul Moroney asked the town engineer why the road outside Kilrush mart floods so badly, resulting in the road having to close in extreme weather conditions.
“This location floods to an impassable level in most instances in severe rainfall conditions. The flood level is at times dictated by the water level in the marina. Surface water run-off from housing developments has increased in recent years and also the raising of land levels between this location and the Wood River has affected the flow of water,” Mr Troy explained.
“Further investigation into remedies for this flooding situation will be undertaken before the winter period, with a view to reducing the risk to road users,” he assured the meeting.