Water levels on the Lower River Shannon at Springfield in Clonlara, have risen two inches following overnight rainfall and are now approximately 4-5 inches below the November 2009 peak level, which was reached on Saturday night last.
Clare County Council says 8mm of rainfall during Wednesday evening and overnight has contributed to the rise in water levels but that further increases are not anticipated during today, Thursday.
The council’s area staff, assisted by The Defence Forces, are continuing to provide support on the ground in Springfield, as well as assist in the transportation of residents of properties isolated by floodwaters.
Meanwhile, the ESB confirmed that levels in Lough Derg stabilised in the past 24 hours and that the flow of water through Parteen Weir will remain at 470 cumecs (cubic metres per second) today. The situation will be reviewed again tomorrow.
The ESB warned that this level of water flow will continue to have associated flooding to land and property in the vicinity of the Shannon downstream of Parteen Weir including the areas of Springfield, Montpelier, Castleconnell, Mountshannon (Annacotty) and the University of Limerick.
Other areas between Parteen Weir and Limerick may also be vulnerable to flooding due to local issues and the ESB will continue to monitor the situation and is liaising with the relevant county councils.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.