ESB dam released equivalent of 13 Olympic swimming pools per minute

THE amount of water discharged from the Inniscarra Dam west of Cork city in the hours preceding last months devastating floods was almost twice the amount the ESB gave in its final warning to the city council, it was revealed last night.

Speaking at a meeting of the council, City Manager Joe Gavin said the level of rainfall and flooding that struck Cork and the rest of the country was unprecedented.

Nobody expected the level of flooding that we experienced. Our own waterworks, built over a hundred years ago - which has never flooded - experienced flooding on this occasion, he said.

But ESB spokesman Nicholas Tarrant says the claims the board underestimated the situation are false.

"We were very clear when we contacted Cork City Council that this was a major flood, that the situation was deteriorating, and that there would be numerous increases in the discharge rate from Inniscarra over the course of the evening (November 19)," Tarrant insisted..

"We were very clear at all times that this was a very serious situation, and that it was escalating."

In a detailed report last night Mr Gavin stated that the council received four calls from officials working at the dam on Thursday, November 19.

The first warning at 11.30am stated that 150 cubic metres of water (150,000 litres) would be released per second with the possibility of it reaching 300 cubic metres later in the day.

At midday the council issued warnings to a number of businesses including the Kingsley Hotel, the County Hall and the Topaz filling station expecting the Carrigrohane Road and western suburbs to flood.

However, as the day progressed further calls from the dam revised the figure upwards with a call at 5.30pm indicating that water being discharged would be greater than 300 cubic metres.

Just after 10pm that night the council contacted the dam themselves after staff in the Lee Road became concerned about the rising water.

At this pont they were informed that water being released would go to 450 cubic metres per second.

In the end the ESB was releasing 535 cubic metres at its peak, enough to fill 13 Olympic sized swimming pools every minute. Mr Gavin noted that there was 800 cubic metres of water entering the reservoir behind the dam every second.

In a lengthy debate at last nights meeting councillors sought assurances that action was being taken to avoid a repeat of the floods.

In a statement this morning an ESB spokesperson said they were currently reading the city managers report, but were fully satisfied in relation to their role with regard to the management of the unprecedented flood.

ESB is of the view that the appropriate forum to evaluate this situation is through a comprehensive review of all aspects of the flooding situation. ESB looks forward to the forthcoming review where all the circumstances surrounding the flooding will be examined.

"ESB will vigorously defend its actions with regard to its responsibilities, the company said.

A review of the flood is to be carried out by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

Meanwhile it is estimated that the city council will have to spend almost €35m on flood repairs and future preventative measures following the deluge.

The figure excludes the cost of damage to individual homes and businesses which is expected to run into tens of millions.

Approximately €10m has already been spent by the city council on essential flood measures such as repairing the damaged water pumps on the Lee Road, purchasing water bottles, replacing

mobile homes and overtime payments for council workers.

It will cost €18m to upgrade the Lee Road waterworks and construct the water pump’s plant room at a higher level to guard against flooding.

Meanwhile €2m will be needed to repair collapsed quay walls on Grenville Place and Sunday’s Well.

Story courtesy of the Evening Echo