Work in pipeline for river flooding pinch points near Mountmellick
Clearance work is scheduled this summer near Mountmellick at a potential flood risk location may bring some relief to residents and businesses of the town waiting on the completion of flood walls.
The River Owenass joins the River Barrow just downstream of Mountmellick at the Borness. River levels in the area rose to dangerously high levels a number of times last winter.
Laois County Council District Engineer Edmund Kenny outlined the work that was proposed under the River Drainage Maintenance Programme this year.
"The plan is to remove silt from the River Owenass and down stream of Mountmellick at Borness Bridge. The second phase of work on the Barrow catchment is the removal of trees alongside the edge of the Barrow from the Borness to Portnahinch bridge," he said.
He told Cllr Paddy Bracken and other county councillors at the Mountmellick Borris-in-Ossory Municipal District meeting that both would be completed in 2021.
Plans for a flood defence scheme are in the works for the town which was hit by devastating flooding in 2017. There have been a number of close shaves since.
Removal of the silt and vegetation around the Borness may ensure water is carried away from the town faster this winter.