Joined-up thinking on clean-up of river urged

Some areas of Co Cork could be at increased risk of flooding due to a lack of joined-up thinking on river clean-ups by the new municipal districts.

That is the claim of Fine Gael councillor Tim Lombard, who told a council meeting that local authority staff had cleaned one section of the Owenabue River, but warned this work would simply speed up water flowing into Ballinhassig village, which has flooded three times in the last five years.

Mr Lombard pointed out that the riverbed on the other side of Ballinhassig was still full of debris and this meant water could back up, increasing the likelihood of flooding in the village.

The Owenabue River — which starts in Crossbarry — flows through Ballinhassig, Ballygarvan, Carrigaline, and Crosshaven where it enters Cork Harbour.

This river spans across two municipal districts: Bandon/ Kinsale and Carrigaline/ Ballincollig.

Council workers from the Bandon/Kinsale municipal district cleared the riverbed in their area, but the same was not done on the other side of the village, which is controlled by the Carrigaline/Ballincollig municipal district.

“Since 2009, the village has been flooded three times, causing a vast amount of extensive damage and inconvenience for the local residents,” said Mr Lombard. “The local area office serving the Bandon/ Kinsale area have done a fantastic job in carrying out minor cleaning works on the Owenabue River ranging from the Halfway to Ballinhassig, resulting in an increased rapid flow of water.”

These work duties included the removal of debris and work to bridges, and Mr Lombard said it is a job that badly needs to be completed along the entire river.

“Unfortunately, cleaning duties have not been commenced on the river between Ballinhassig and Ballygarvan/Carrigaline,” he said.

“Due to the augmented flow of water, if we are to encounter another bad winter as we have for the last few years, the village of Ballinhassig is doomed to be flooded once again.

“What we need here is a joint effort between the two local area offices to clean the entire river in order to ensure that this issue does not turn into a major problem in the coming weeks.”

Mr Lombard said this lack of joined-up thinking is probably taking place in other parts of the county.

Council bosses said they would look into Mr Lombard’s claims.

County engineer David Keane said that the council only had responsibility for cleaning rivers if they were “in a public space or adjoined it”.

He said that the council had sought legal advice on this and elsewhere it was the responsibility of the landowner through whose fields a river flows.