‘Roadmap’tomanage floodingputforward
A Catchment Flood Risk Assessment (CFRAM) carried out by the OPW is the largest study of its kind to be carried out in Ireland. The assessment tracks decades of rainfall and water level data involving thousands of river and floodplain surveys.
Gerry Gallagher of the OPW provided elected members with an update on flood risk plans for Wicklow at Monday’s meeting of Wicklow County Council.
‘ The CFRAM process creates a road map of what needs to be done to manage flood risks nationwide.’
The CFRAM Programme is central to the medium to long-term strategy for the reduction and management of flood risk in Ireland.
Implementation of the requirements EU Floods Directive is being coordinated with the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive and the current River Basin Management Plans. The programme is also being undertaken with close cross-border coordination.
The assessment included a three month consultation process, with one plan per catchment. Wicklow has four plans for the Liffey, Vartry, Slaney and Barrow rivers.
Hard defences are required for Blessington, where 137 houses are at risk of flooding. It is estimated that the required works would save the state €5.76 cent for every euro spent.
Hard defences and some storage space is required for Ashford and Rathnew and some hard defences for Aughrim.
Hard defences and channel conveyance is proposed for Avoca.
Two urban schemes are already underway in Arklow and Bray. Hard defences, storage space and channel conveyance is suggested for Greystones.
The deadline for public feedback in the case of Blessington. Ashford, Rathnew, Aughrim and Arklow is December 2.
Baltinglass is under a different scheme with a deadline date of October 28.
A public consultation day takes place in the County Buildings, Wicklow town, next Wednesday, October 12, from 2 to 7 p.m.
Once the flood defences are put in place, they have to be managed and regularly inspected. AFTER 46 years on this planet, I have finally come to the conclusion that I hate exercise. All exercise! There are no exceptions. It isn’t because I haven’t found ‘My Thing’, or because I haven’t given it a chance, nope. I’m just allergic.
And believe me I have tried everything, except running. I haven’t tried running because my boobs are too big and I don’t want to give myself a black eye.
Other than that I have tried the whole damn lot and I hated every second of it all.
First there was swimming but I gave that up because I don’t like taking my clothes off and my hair goes frizzy. Then there was yoga, which just made me laugh or fall asleep. I tried Pilates but I couldn’t find my pelvic floor.
Many years ago I gave step aerobics a go but was actually asked to leave because my lack of co-ordination was making everybody else laugh.
I had a brief encounter with boxing which I actually did sort of like but it was too sweaty for me. Then there was kettlebells and to be fair I lasted a whole year at that. But my teacher changed the classes to a Monday morning. I’m bad every morning but on a Monday I’m catatonic so that was never going to work.
Himself tried, God love him, to get me to play tennis. I think he likes the idea of me in a short skirt and head band. But the God’s honest truth is I can’t hit the ball. And when it comes anywhere near me I shriek, or curse, or both. After making a holy show of him a couple of times, he conceded that maybe tennis wasn’t my thing.
If shopping was a sport, I’d be Olympic standard but other than that there doesn’t appear to be any hope for me. Instead I sit around with my friends drinking coffee and lamenting the fact that we’ve put on weight in middle age and how could that possibly be?
‘It has to be hormonal. Seriously,’ says my friend, shovelling a doughnut into her gob. I agree as I demolish a Danish pastry in one foul swoop. We can spend hours talking about how we need to lose weight and what we’re going to do about it. We are like our own little Quango–all talk no action.
The guilt hits on Sunday night after a particularly greasy takeaway has been consumed. I text my friend, M. ‘Fancy doing cardio tennis in the morning?’ I’m not quite sure what cardio tennis entails but it doesn’t sound pleasant. M texts me back. ‘Cardio and tennis in the same sentence? You’ve got to be kidding?’
She’s right, I think as I snuggle under the duvet. Anyway at our age it’s either face or figure. I’ll go for face!