FLOODING ISSUES are occurring in Shannon due to “lack of necessary maintenance”
Clare County Council were urged by Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND) “to clean out all the storm water infrastructure in Shannon. The lack of necessary maintenance is causing a lot of flooding issues throughout Shannon and the current Council policy seems to be reactionary and I believe a more proactive approach is necessary to improve”.
He expressed his belief that “a lot of necessary gullies and slit channels are restricted and are less effective due to the lack of regular maintenance”.
Senior executive engineer in the Shannon Municipal District, Tom Mellett responded, “recent weather events have highlighted what is an ongoing concern for this office”. Maintenance of the public storm water network is a responsibility of the Shannon MD office, he acknowledged. “The office is proactive in this role. During November 2020, a specialist contractor working alongside our own crews investigated and cleared the drains in urban areas of the Municipal District”.
Mellett continued, “In addition to this throughout November, December and January our own crews engaged in clearing drains associated with public roads in rural areas of the District. Drainage issues are a key concern of this office and we will continue to be pre-emptive in this area”.
Speaking at a recent sitting of the Shannon MD, Cllr Flynn stated that he was aware a contractor was appointed in 2020 “but a lot of areas where these challenges haven’t been addressed”. He outlined that his reasoning for submitting the proposal was to secure more resources. His motion was seconded by Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF) who noted that the MD office admitted it was “an ongoing concern”.
