FLOODING along one of West Clare’s main road networks will become an issue if drains are not cleared, a local councillor has warned.
In a proposal before the West Clare Municipal District, Cllr Rita McInerney (FF) proposed that “Clare County Council initiate and carry out essential flood relief measures by clearing the drains along the northern side of the N68 in Lissycasey, specifically between Decomade and Benedin. These works are urgently required to address the severe flooding of adjacent farmland and local side roads, which has arisen due to the obstruction of the drains and is causing hardship on landowners and residents alike”.
Senior executive engineer, Alan Kennelly in his reply outlined that the West Clare MD office received no reports of flooding of the public road network in the Decomade and Benedin areas. “The road surface level of N68 was raised in this area some years ago and flooding has not been an issue since then. We are not aware of any of any flood event on the local primary (L-4230) or local tertiary (L-63441) roads located on the northern side of the N68 in Decomade and Benedin”.
He added, “I’d suspect that clearing some drains on the southern side of the N68 might help flood waters in farmland dissipate more quickly (as the direction of groundwater flow /surface water flow is South – towards the Shannon Estuary), but this is a guess. Clearing drains on private property is a matter for the landowner concerned, rather than Clare County Council. If there is an issue with roadside drainage, I will contact the local roads overseer on behalf of the elected member”.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Cllr McInerney maintained that the issue was “a backing up of water onto farmlands” and that the issue was primarily affecting “several local landowners” who had contacted her over the issue. The area in question consists of low-lying, boggy land which can easily become waterlogged and damaged after periods of excessive rainfall or prolonged flooding.
McInerney added that she would like to see the issue fixed as “we are heading into a wetter climate now”, meaning that landowners in the area would be continually impacted. She maintained that the flooding was primarily confined to farmland for the moment but could become an issue for the N68 national secondary route to Kilrush if drains are not cleared.
