Solutions needed to prevent more floods

Solutions needed to prevent more floods

24 January 2024

A RADICAL proposal to replace the Quoile barrier as part of a package of measures to help prevent a repeat of last November’s devastating town centre flood in Downpatrick will be discussed by local politicians this evening.

Members of Newry, Mourne and Down Council’s Sustainability and Environment Committee will debate two separate notices of motion which are being tabled in the wake of the catastrophic Downpatrick flood and the flooding of homes in the Marguerite area in Newcastle nearly three months ago.

Separate motions have been tabled by Downpatrick area councillor Cadogan Enright and Mournes councillor Jill Truesdale and include calls for  a district-wide flood warning system similar to those in place in other parts of the UK.

Cllr Enright said the November floods, which left business and homeowners with a repair bill in excess of £15m, “exposed the clear inadequacy” of the district’s flood defences.

He believes that in order to address this and in the absence of the Assembly, the local authority should work with Louth County Council, the Irish government and relevant Stormont departments to submit a funding application to the Shared Ireland Fund for upgrades to local flood defences.

Cllr Enright believes the focus should be on replacing the Quoile barrier, built in 1957, to address its inability to release water from the Quoile river into Strangford Lough during high tides.

In addition, he says the spotlight needs to be shone on the Shimna and Burren rivers flood defences and the lack of capital investment in flood alleviation schemes in Downpatrick.

Cllr Enright is also keen for council officials to investigate the maintenance regime in place at the district’s rivers.

Cllr Truesdale is proposing the local authority considers buying sand-less sandbags and flood barriers to be stored in an accessible area to be used when they are needed in an emergency.

She is also proposing that council officials examine the purchase of environmentally friendly flood defences.

Councillors will tonight be asked to write to the Environment Agency calling for the immediate implementation of a flood warning system which operates in England, Scotland and Wales.

In addition, Cllr Truesdale is keen for dedicated community flood plans to be drawn up and for meetings with senior government officials representing the Rivers Agency and Drainage and Flooding Council to “explore the adequacy and performance” of current flood defence systems across the district.

She has also proposed an examination of maintenance schedules for shores, road drains, gullies and other major storm drains.

Ahead of tonight’s council meeting, local authority director Andrew Cassells said work is required to determine if an application to the Shared Ireland Fund is feasible.

He also said issues in relation to existing flood defences, claims of a lack of capital investment, specifically in relation to water flow at the Belfast Road bridge in Downpatrick, are matters for the Department for Infrastructure whose officials could be invited to address the council committee.

Mr Cassells did confirm the maintenance of the Quoile barrier and any plans to upgrade it were the government department’s responsibility.

Committee members will be told that they will have an input into the ongoing flooding review which has been launched to determine what caused the catastrophic flood in Downpatrick town centre and the Department for Infrastructure’s response.

Mr Cassells said the maintenance of waterways is the Rivers Agency’s responsibility, with the organisation also in charge of the emergency response to flooding incidents and the construction and maintenance of flood defences.

The council director explained the local authority is not obliged to provide sand bags and has not set aside a budget for their purchase and that implementing a flood warning system would have “considerable resourcing implications” for various government departments.

He also said Northern Ireland is the only region in the UK that does not have an independent environment agency.

Mr Cassells said the local authority should be mindful of its own responsibilities and aware of those in relation to flooding which are the responsibility of DfI roads and rivers and Northern Ireland Water.

Councillors will be told tonight that dealing with the substance of the respective flooding motions would involve “significant officer time” and that no budget is in place for such work to be carried out.