Cork flood relief work could start in 2016

The biggest flood relief scheme ever carried out in Ireland, costing between €40 million and €60 million and aimed at preventing flooding in Cork city, could start early in 2016 and is likely to take three years to complete, according to a senior figure in the Office of Public Works .

Lower Lee flood relief project co-ordinator John Kelly said he expects the consultation process for the scheme to be submitted for confirmation by Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin in mid to late 2015.

This would open the way for the OPW to procure a contractor who is likely to commence work in either late 2015 or early 2016 with the work over the 15km stretch of the river Lee from Inniscarra Dam to Custom House Quay likely to take three years to complete.

Mr Kelly was speaking at Cork City Hall yesterday where an exhibition of the preferred option for flood relief works has gone on display for the public who will be able to make submissions on the plan before an outline design is finalised before Christmas.

The proposed flood relief scheme is designed to prevent a repeat of the 2009 fluvial flood and the 2012 and 2014 tidal floods when large tracts of the low-lying city centre were inundated to depths of a metre or more in some instances, causing millions of euro worth of damage.

River overspill

The flood relief measures, proposed by the OPW following an engineering study by Arup and

JBA Consulting

, involve the sealing of many sections of the quay walls along both north and south channels of the river which are currently open and vulnerable to river overspill.

The measures include sealing quay areas currently guarded by railings such as Sullivan's Quay and George's Quay on the south channel as well as the North Mall on the north channel as well as sealing open parapets on bridges such as the Christy Ring Bridge.

Footbridges such as St Vincent’s Bridge and Shandon Bridge would also be raised to allow greater flow while demountable barriers would also be used to seal gaps in existing walled quay areas such as Pope’s Quay and Lavitt’s Quay.

The plan also involves the building of embankments upstream of Cork city to protect parts of Fitzgerald Park, the Carrigrohane Straight and the Inniscarra Road which have all been subjected to heavy flooding in the past five years.

Forecasting

The plan also involves advanced flood forecasting and improvements in dam-operating procedures at Inniscarra Dam some 15km upstream of Cork to ensure water is released well in advance of predicted floods and prevent a repeat of what happened in 2009.

The plan also makes provision for the designation of some areas in Inniscarra and Carrigrohane as washlands which would be flooded by greater controlled discharges from the Inniscarra Dam in advance of heavy rainfall

The plan also includes flood relief schemes on the Curraheen tributary of the river Lee as well as flood protection measures in both Ballyvolane and Blackpool on Cork’s northside which have been badly flooded in recent years.