Laois flood prevention plan raises new flood fear in Mountmellick

Rural residents of a Laois town that suffered widespread floods in 2017 are afraid that the long awaited flood prevention plan may actually cause floods in their homes and pollute their drinking water.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) is still in the process of planning kilometres of flood prevention walls and earthen embankments to protect Mountmellick from a repeat of the unprecedented flood seven years ago.

The flood forced a shutdown of the main street, emergency evacuations and damage to nearly 100 homes and businesses. Mountmellick Flood Relief Scheme includes reconstruction of the stone bridge in Derrycloney to allow more river water to flow through. A public consultation in 2023 showed all the plans in detail. 

However residents of Derrycloney believe that the plan could back up the flood waters into their area, and contaminate their water supply. 

They have enlisted an engineer and the voice of Laois TDs to explain their fear.

Laois Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley told the Leinster Express / Laois Live about the meeting he had with the OPW and Laois County Council management, with Deputy Charlie Flanagan having also met officials and given an update. 

“The purpose of this meeting was to progress the Mountmellick Flood Relief Scheme in such a way as not to cause flooding to homes and property in the Derrycloney area.

“The local Residents group are extremely concerned that the current plans for the scheme will have the unintended consequences of causing flooding at their homes and properties. All homes in the area depend on wells for domestic water supply and they also have onsite septic tanks for wastewater from their households.

“An Engineer, on behalf of the residents and their delegation set out clearly what their concerns were and put forward technical information to support their case.

“If flooding were to occur in this area it would directly cause the pollution of domestic water supplies which would be emanating from septic tanks and farm slurry tanks in the locality.

“The Derrycloney Group put forward proposals and suggestion to avert this, and these were discussed in detail. Both the OPW and LCC committed to carrying out further investigations and further survey works and incorporate whatever new measures that are necessary to protect the area from the risk of flooding. These would then become part of the overall Mountmellick Flood Relief Scheme,’’ he said.

Dep Stanley said the scheme must happen as fast as possible.

“The Mountmellick scheme needs to be progressed as quickly as possible, given the damage to homes and businesses in the past. It is essential that the final plans for it does not result in flooding just been moved from one residential area to another.

The OPW and LCC are to revert back to the residents by the end of August with the result of the outcome of their investigations along with proposals to contain flooding.’’

The meetings followed an update delivered on June 13 by OPW management on the project at the Dáil Public Accounts Committee where it was confirmed that the building of defences is still at Stage 1 of a five stage process.

The recent Public Accounts Committee meeting heard that the Mountmellick scheme is currently at the preliminary design stage. OPW have said that they are progressing that stage, with planning to be submitted to An Bord Pleanála in 2024, and stage 1 construction to commence in July 2025.

Paul McLoughlin, Laois County Council engineer had estimated how long it will take to build, speaking to the Leinster Express / Laois Live at the public consultation day in 2023.

"It will go to An Bord Pleanála in 2024 for planning approval. In 2025 that should be back and it should be completed by mid 2026. It is quite easy to construct, there is no big technical construction. The biggest part is to get consent. We have engaged with landowners and as we progress towards CPOs that engagement will ramp up," he had said.

 The OPW has a dedicated website about flood risks in Ireland.