OPW minister to meet creator of Midleton flood early warning system

Minister Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran will assess whether a locally developed alert system could inform future flood warnings nationwide

The Midleton Early Warning System sends alerts to 5,000 registered users after water levels exceed 50% above normal water levels in the East Cork town’s river, the Owenacurra, and several of its tributaries. Picture: Cork County Council

The Office of Public Works (OPW) minister plans to meet the man behind the first early warning flood alert system of its kind in Ireland to glean whether it can be used by local authorities in the future.

Kevin 'Boxer' Moran wants to meet Midleton businessman Colin James, who set up the Midleton Early Warning System (MEWS) after Storm Babet devastated the East Cork town in 2023.

It was inspired by New Zealand’s tsunami early warning network, which tracks sea-level changes and provides real-time data as events unfold.

Mr James managed to launch MEWS in May ​in Midleton after a short and successful pilot phase. However, Cork County Council has said early flood warning systems for the East Cork town are unworkable.

Mr Moran, who is due to revisit Midleton early in the new year, as well as meeting council officials and residents to discuss concerns around flood mitigation and prevention, told the Irish Examiner: “I applaud him and the great work he has done. He shouldn't have to do it.​ That's where the local authority should be leading from the front.

“I don't know why the council didn't, so we'd have to explore that, but I would like to meet that man when I visit the town.” 

The Midleton Early Warning System sends alerts to 5,000 registered users after water levels exceed 50% above normal water levels in the East Cork town’s river, the Owenacurra, and several of its tributaries.

The data comes from 17 sensors monitoring river levels, which an AI bot analyses in seconds to calculate flow rates. Texts are automatically sent after each significant increase beyond a set threshold.

On November 11, the system recorded its highest readings since its launch last May, with more than 50,000 texts sent about two alerts of water levels being 50.1% then 53.2% above normal.

However, because the increase occurred gradually over several hours, the system calculated a low flow rate, indicating that although river levels were high at the time, they were not rising rapidly enough to signal a risk of severe flooding.

The council did not respond to a query on whether it had changed its position about the viability of early flood warning systems for Midleton.