Councillor Cadogan Enright, Mrs Rachel Kennedy, and Pat Ward local activist
Down Cllr Cadogan Enright has described as ‘shocking’ the recent floods in the Listooder area. The recent heavy rains have seen roads covered in water and homes surrounded by flooding due to inadequate drainage.
Cllr Cadogan Enright said “This area has been burdened with floods for many years and the solutions put in place to alleviate the problem were ineffective. Drains are either blocked or, in several instances, the drains themselves are sited above the water level and so simply do not work.”
A number of houses have been flooded in the past and most local residents have to keep sandbags at the ready in case of sudden downpours. “This leaves many people barricaded in their own homes”, Cllr Enright added.
On one occasion, a chicken shed was flooded, resulting in the death of hundreds of chickens and a costly damage bill for the farmer involved.
Local resident, Mrs Rachel Kennedy, has been living with these problems for years. “I have had to deal with flooding many times over the years and it is difficult trying to live with the constant threat of flooding. The sandbags are permanently at my front door in case of a flash flood”, she said.
A Department of the Environment representative recently met with local residents in a bid to find a lasting solution to these problems. “It happened to be raining that day and so the flooding problems were obvious”, said local activist Pat Ward.
As a result of this meeting, the Department of the Environment have agreed to implement a number of changes, which residents have agreed would relieve the situation. These include installing larger gratings and connection pipes to carry the water to the culvert at Lyons Bridge and hence to the stream.
Cllr Enright concluded, “We have the opportunity to solve the flooding problems in Listooder and we will be pressing the Department to ensure they follow through on their promises, but are thankful for their cooperation to date”.
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