*Shannon Town. Photograph: Joe Buckley
ESTIMATED COSTS for the Shannon Town and environs flood relief scheme have already jumped from €30m to €40m.
Close to €40m will have to be spent on the scheme, elected representatives have now been told by officials in Clare County Council whereas local authority staff in April 2023 detailed that costs would be in the region of €30m.
Failure to complete works could leave damages in the region of €270m in a worst-case scenario.
During the development of Shannon Town and Shannon Airport in the 1940s and 1950s, a series of embankments were constructed along the north side of the Shannon Estuary to separate the low-lying lands from the tidal waters to the south. Both the Airport and town are now at risk of flooding from both coastal and fluvial sources.
In July 2020, the OPW in partnership with Clare County Council appointed RPS to further assess the Shannon Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Study. RPS were tasked with identifying options and to prepare a detailed scheme for Shannon which is economically viable and environmentally sustainable.
This study initially found that both the town and airport were an Area of Further Assessment (AFA) and IRR Individual Risk Receptor (IRR) respectively and concluded that a flood relief scheme would be viable and effective for the community.
There are five stages to the project, option assessment/scheme development/design,
planning/development/consent process, detailed construction design and tender, construction and finally the handover of works. Stage one commenced in August 2020.
Issuing an update to members of the Shannon Municipal District, Director of Services Alan Farrell outlined that phase three was ongoing, this is the detailed construction design and tender stage.
Farrell said a draft design has been completed for the preferred options and this incorporates Active Travel measures and public transport.
An environmental impact assessment report (EIAR) is due to be completed in the second quarter of 2024, the Director said. “We estimate that will be done by mid 2024,” he added.
