Cork County Council announces locations to collect sandbags for flood-prone areas

Council officials said that if heavy rainfall occurs, leading to a high risk of flooding, they will make sandbags available at specific locations.

Cork County Council workmen with  sandbags in Bantry, West Cork, last year. Picture: Andy Gibson.

Cork County Council is to make sandbags available at a number of its depots in East Cork for businesses and residents amid fears that winter storms could see flood-prone areas hit once again.

The move follows a call from Independent councillor Mary Linehan Foley, the mayor of Co Cork, for sandbags to be made available in the Youghal Council Depot over the winter.

Council officials responded by saying that if heavy rainfall occurs, leading to a high risk of flooding, they will make sandbags available at the following locations where they can be picked up by the public.

These are: 

• The Cork Road Depot (Midleton), P25 H522
• The Lodge Storage Yard (Midleton), P25 D832, 
• The Killeagh Depot, P36 XE13, 
• The Youghal Depot, P36 T380.

However, they said that the locations “may vary depending on the type of flooding expected and also having regard to operational efficiencies”. 

During the week beginning November 10, when fluvial (river) flood risk was a concern — particularly in Midleton, Castlemartyr, and Mogeely — approximately 484 sandbags were provided to the public at the Cork Road Depot in Midleton, and pallets of sandbags were dropped to Mogeely and Castlemartyr.

Ms Linehan-Foley stressed that sandbags need to be available in Youghal in January and February to deal with the heightened risk of tidal flooding in the town.

Gully cleaning

Fine Gael councillor Michael Hegarty sought an update on the programme of gully cleaning across the region, saying he had received many complaints from constituents about drains not being unblocked.

He was told by council engineers that while "substantially complete, drainage maintenance, including gully cleaning, remains ongoing".

Ms Linehan-Foley said that some drains in her hometown of Youghal remained totally blocked with cement and build-up of silt, gravel, and other debris.

In response, she was told by senior executive engineer Dave Clarke that council workers will address this.

He said the council has, in general, addressed leaf blockages in drains across the region in recent days, and with foliage falls to lessen, the bulk of this work has been done, and this should ease flooding risks.

Mr Clarke said council workers prioritise known "risk areas" where blockages may occur.

However, when quizzed by councillors, he admitted that the council does not have jurisdiction over a number of drainage systems, as Uisce Éireann has control over these, such as older ‘dual drains’ which combine wastewater and normal rainfall flow-off drainage.

Mogeely

In response to Fianna Fáil's Patrick Mulcahy, Mr Clarke said that the council intends to carry out flood prevention work in Mogeely. This will involve work on the Killeagh road approach to the village in the Deerpark townland, with the installation of a number of new culverts to divert flood water away from Mogeely village.

Mr Clarke said the project will involve taking flood water away from the village by halting the gradient sweeping down into it.

He said that, because of its topography, Mogeely is particularly vulnerable to any rapid rainfall, such as more than 20mm over two hours, which has happened in the past.