Councillor Gerry McMonagle has said flood defences must be implemented in the Letterkenny Municipal District area as a matter of urgency.
Cllr Gerry McMonagle.
The Sinn Féin councillor said that 90% of retail businesses in the town centre are built on a floodplain of the River Swilly, which could lead to a disaster if flash flooding occurred similar to that of Inishowen last month.
McMonagle called on Letterkenny MD to hold a meeting with the Office of Public Works to discuss flood defences. He said areas of Letterkenny have been identified as being under severe risk of flooding.
Referencing the flash flooding of August 22nd, McMonagle said: “If that amount of rain fell today we would be in an unmitigated disaster. We need to get the OPW to come in and talk to us. We need to get them to discuss a time frame for emergency works.
“The days of the 100 year flood are over, we are getting it nearly every year,” he said.
McMonagle said climate change is a very real element in such disasters.
“We are creating tarmac and concrete jungles like in Letterkenny and there is water running right down to where the Swilly is and that is where 90% of our retail in our town centre is.”
He added: “I am talking about Letterkenny town because of the importance it is to the whole county.”
McMonagle was told in the council’s response that the OPW are coming to the end of Phase 1 of the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management programme. Actual works are not carried out until Phase 3, which could take a number of years and are implemented based on funding available from a national fund.
McMonagle said, “After what happened in Inishowen, I don’t think we can wait on a phase 1, 2 and 3.”
He applauded the government’s response to make funds available for Inishowen and praised the council workers who went “beyond the call of duty” during the crisis.
He asked the council to impress on the OPW to consult with the district to see what works are necessary and what the council can do to help.
The motion was seconded by Cllr Adrian Glackin, who added that Letterkenny MD must be proactive rather than reactive to flooding.
Cllr Dessie Shiels questioned Cllr McMonagle’s claim that 90% of the retail sector was on the floodplain. He estimated that it was more likely to be 30-40%, to which McMonagle replied with a list of major buildings on the low-lying area of the town.
It was agreed by the council that a meeting could be requested with OPW to find out if precautionary measures are being worked on to lessen the impact of potential flooding in the future.
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