Angry business people in Leitrim make themselves heard

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar arrived in Carrick-on-Shannon last Monday to see for himself the extent of the flooding locally and before he left he got a lesson in hydrodynamics, a detailed explanation on the workings of a 19th century weir, and what a local action group believe is needed in the short to medium term to solve critical flooding in the town.
The Taoiseach visited Carrick Retail Park on the Boyle Road where he saw the flooding that is once again threatening the businesses there, including Carrick Cineplex and Super Valu.
He met with Grainne Caldbeck of Enhance Health & Beauty, and Sham Hanifa of Synergy café who both detailed the difficulties they are experiencing due to the latest flooding that has covered the car park in front of their businesses.
Liam Farrell doubled up as owner of Carrick Cineplex and also Chairman of Carrick-on-Shannon Flood Action Group and he took the opportunity to have an impromptu yet detailed discussion in Synergy with the Taoiseach and also with Maurice Buckley, Chairman of the OPW.
Like the Shannon itself, Mr Farrell was in full flow and very assured of his brief in discussing the matter with both men.
He said it is extremely frustrating that small or medium works which won't solve flooding itself but will solve critical flooding, “the stuff that brings Carrick-on-Shannon to a standstill on a number of occasions,” are not being done.
“We experience huge intransigence in dealing with bodies such as ESB, etc to get through a perceived mindset about lowering water in Lough Allen. We got to that point and Lough Allen is now lowered a half a metre in September after navigation so that's proactive rather than reactive.
“Works were carried out at Jamestown on the Leitrim and Roscommon sides by both local authorities which greatly relieved flooding and let water convey through,” he said.
Mr Farrell said the big issue in their view is Jamestown Weir which was constructed in the mid 19th century, was not built to specification, is too short, and doesn't function. The hydraulics don't work so the weir actually exacerbates the flood, he said.
“If the weir functions it moves on the water and it removes this critical flooding and we wouldn't have to have this conversation again. It's a very, very small investment,” he told the Taoiseach.
He was also critical of the “huge amount of money being wasted in terms of CFRAMS and talking about walls” and questioned the aesthetics of such walls.
Mr Farrell described this as very, very basic stuff.
“It's like a house, you clean your gutters, if you don't clean your gutters they fall down. That's what it's all about.
“I think we've gotten through to various bodies. They've started to listen to IFA, to mariners, people who have knowledge from various sectors but we do need to move on now, that work (Jamestown Weir) needs to be sanctioned, if it does then we can get on with our lives.”
Brian Kenny, retired local authority engineer, told the Taoiseach he has studied the river since the 2009 flood.
“Jamestown is one of those points on the Shannon where the water actually discharges freely. This part of the Shannon is totally different to other parts of the Shannon - you can solve problems here without impacting negatively downstream. The difficulty really is lack of maintenance,” he said.
Another member of the flood action group, Sean Murtagh said in 2009 there was huge flooding here in Carrick-on-Shannon.
“Leitrim County Council undertook to widen one of the pinch points at Jamestown. In 2015, we had higher rainfall yet we were not impacted as much. Actually doing that piece of work lowered the flooding of the area and did not impact anywhere further down,” he said.
At this point, Maurice Buckley, Chairman of the OPW, had joined the meeting and Liam Farrell told him there is a huge deficit in knowledge with regards to the Shannon.
“People need to know how the systems works, they need to talk to the mariners and the farmers. The weir is a central piece of infrastructure south of Carrick-on-Shannon and it's not working. It wasn't built to its construction size in the first place so it never has functioned and it certainly doesn't function now.
“There's a very small amount of works required in Jamestown and yet again it's obfuscating and putting it off and not doing it. Why is it not being done?” he asked.
“This is serious, we've heard this before, this is four years on. We don't have time, as business people, to be hearing this, we need you to understand this,” he implored.
He put it directly to Mr Buckley that if he believes walls will solve the problem and not fixing the weir in Jamestown, which would only come afterwards, then “it is a fundamental flaw in your thought process.”
Mr Kenny said the focus as it stands at the moment is on areas liable to flooding and the valuable assets that might be flooded, and the emphasis now is on building walls to protect those assets.
“What we're asking for is to very, very simple stuff like maintaining the infrastructure you have,” he said.
He gave the Taoiseach and Mr Buckley an example of 12 gates that are immersed in the river and are acting as a barrier.
He said if they were lifted out of the water, clear of the flood, that would reduce the levels in the car park and also the level out in Leitrim Village by the same amount. That would cost a fraction for what's being proposed by CFRAM, he said.
Mr Buckley told the group that they have the funding for the CFRAM scheme, then the detailed design will follow and will look at all those issues.
“The final scheme may be different from what is outlined in CFRAM,” he indicated.
“We will take on board certainly all of the issues and we do respect the local knowledge that's available and the different parties involved, the farmers, the anglers, the people who use the river and the historical knowledge you have,” he said.
Mr Farrell told him it was empirical knowledge.
As the meeting came to a conclusion, two ladies resident in Leitrim Village highlighted their concerns to the Taoiseach about the flooding that is taking place there. The flood waters have risen on the Keadue Road, Church Road, the Fairgreen and either side of the canal in Leitrim Village.