Three years and a €5m estimate to fix Ballycar flooding

WORKS carried out in 1929 to prevent flooding in the Sixmilebridge and Bunratty areas had the unintended consequence of disrupting railway services 80 years later, Shannon area councillors heard this week.
They were given an Iarnród Éireann presentation on the persistent flooding problem at Ballycar and also told that around €5 million would be required to remedy the situation.
Conor McGuinness, programme manager with Iarnród Éireann said the line had been closed for eight weeks in 2009 due to flooding at Ballycar, which prompted a study. Consultants were appointed and they presented a report in October of last year.
Mr McGuinness said there had been no flooding at the site prior to 1930 but arterial drainage works were carried out in 1929 on streams going to Ballycar Lake and the area has flooded on 14 occasions since, including 1994, 1995, 2005, 2008 and 2009. The floods reached a high point of 1.6m in 1995.
Five possible options were outlined and Mr McGuinness said a favoured one had been identified, which would remove certain underground restrictions. It would involve putting in place a 1.5m piped culvert between a swallow hole and a downstream outlet. The piping would need to be approximately 440m in length.
However, he said Iarnród Éireann do not have the authority to carry out such works. “We would see the Office of Public Works (OPW) as the body to implement this scheme. They have experience in this area,” he added.
He said a number of specific steps would have to be taken and it is likely the project would take around three years.
Councillor Pat McMahon said the problem has been in existence for an extraordinary length of time. “If it takes 18 more years, it will be 100 years on the go and that’s a long, long time.”
He said he could recall a meeting on the matter held 20 years ago, which was attended by 150 people and marked by “great aspiration and great hope”.
Councillor Patricia McCarthy said lessons of the past have to be learned and any works that do take place must improve matters. “We need to be careful or the cure could be worse than the disease,” she said.
Independent PJ Ryan said pressure would need to be put on the OPW and this would probably need to come from Cabinet. Councillor John Crowe noted the OPW had done a “fantastic job” in relation to flooding works in Sixmilebridge.