GALWAY County Council announced that the South Galway Flood Relief Scheme has finally gone to review with the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and are optimistic that the scheme will be submitted to the Office of Public Works (OPW) by the end of February. The project began in 2017 as a response to the severe flooding that affected South Galway in 2015 and 2016.
The project received strong support from local councillor Sean Canney, who at the time had been appointed Minister for Flooding. As part of the preparation for the proposed scheme, a flood risk assessment was carried out between 2017 and 2020. The assessment highlighted that over 73 homes and 65 non-residential properties would be at risk of flooding. It also pointed out extensive pollution entering Galway Bay.
“Though we haven’t had a major flood event in several years, South Galway is still highly vulnerable to extensive flooding. This scheme simply has to be delivered – as we won’t get another chance at this,” said David Murray, Chairman of the South Galway Flood Relief Committee (SGFRC). David also noted that the red warning issued by Met Éireann could put South Galway in “a very bad scenario” over the next few weeks.
Over the past seven years, the South Galway Flood Relief Scheme has faced significant challenges due to the complex karst landscape across a vast area of 470 km². This area includes underground rivers, 37 interconnected floodplains, and over 10 turloughs, many of which are protected as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). Extensive data collection, intricate flood modelling, detailed flood channel design, and meticulous environmental assessments bound by stringent regulatory requirements have caused significant delays. Despite these hurdles, progress has remained steady, with the scheme aiming to balance effective flood relief solutions with environmental and community considerations.
“Though progress has been slow, the scheme has successfully progressed through every milestone, and we are now at the tail end of the design process,” said David Murray, chair of the SGFRC. “The design and environmental consultants have navigated and iterated through an inordinate amount of complex design and environmental challenges to produce a scheme that can deliver a lasting flood relief solution.”
Once the OPW concludes their review, the next major milestone will be a final Public Consultation to outline the scheme to the community and other stakeholders. The subsequent step will be ministerial confirmation of the scheme.
The South Galway Flood Relief Committee will be organizing a meeting with public representatives in the coming weeks to ensure continued support for the project at both the local authority and Government levels.
