Save Cork City pleads with council to reject OPW flood defence plans

The campaign group claim the OPW are more interested in "winning an argument" rather than addressing concerns. 

A cyclist making his way through the flood water at South Terrace in Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan

The campaign group Save Cork City (SCC) has rejected calls to withdraw their objections to the Office of Public Works (OPW) Lower Lee Flood Relief Scheme and repeated their support for a tidal barrier plan.

In a 22 page letter sent to Cork City Council, the campaign group pleaded with councillors to abandon the OPW flood plans for the city and claimed that the OPW and civil service are more concerned with “winning an argument” rather than “addressing the real issues that still remain unresolved”.

The campaign group urged councillors to “stand up to change the tone of the OPW drainage department response to Cork and help to create a more caring and fair atmosphere that listens to people's concerns”.

SCC said temporary defences should be used to protect businesses and a failure not to use them up to now should be considered negligent. 

A woman making her way through the floodwater at South Terrace in Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan

The campaign group also rejected criticism of their tidal barrier proposal in the letter.

“We have heard the argument that flood walls be built first and support a later tidal barrier.

“There are no circumstances, ever, that would give a city a maintenance issue on both a flood walls scheme and a tidal barrier and pay for both needlessly.

“The beauty of a tidal barrier is that it reduces water levels in the city and negates the OPW scheme in the historic centre. We are very seriously concerned by such arguments that we see as bogus and outside the public interest.

“This kind of argument is destructive as it hampers the reasonable discussion that needs to be had while creating confusion.

“We have been presented with the argument that a tidal barrier is too expensive or damaging to the environment with no reasonable or independent figures presented or evidence of the comparison between the different options.

“Presentation of requirements for additional gates in a tidal barrier or wider gates additionally muddy the water of reasonable discussion and only rise the bogus cost of reasonable proposals.

“These ill-informed arguments come from OPW and are highly questionable and wholly and completely disputed by our best most experienced advice.

“Morrison’s Island works cannot provide the protection needed in the historic centre because time and again it has been proved that water rises from the ground within 15 minutes of the rats surfacing in a tidal surge flood event and this is the case in the most recent flood event.

“It is misleading to say it can and it is misleading to not acknowledge the alteration to ground water and building foundations the proposals would cause,” the letter said.

A car in the flood water at Fr. Matthew Quay in Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan

In the aftermath of the severe flooding in Cork City earlier this month, SCC faced calls to review their legal challenges to OPW flood defence plans.

The campaign group said it would “reconsider all of its actions” but stopped short of responding to OPW Minister Patrick O’Donovan’s call to withdraw its application for a judicial review of the Morrison’s Island public realm upgrade.

The OPW has insisted the scheme would have prevented the tidal flooding which swamped up to 100 premises in around the Oliver Plunkett St area of the city earlier this month.