TRADERS REACT FAST AS SLANEY FLOODS RETURN
RELIEF WORKS ARE AT LEAST A YEAR AWAY MORE ON THE FLOODING
THE PRESSING need for Enniscorthy’s Flood Defence Scheme was truly rammed home over the weekend as the River Slaney burst its banks and enveloped parts of the town.
Traders on Templeshannon and Abbey Quays had to react quickly to prevent their businesses being damaged again by the rising tides.
This time around their flood barriers just about managed to hold out.
The underground car park at the Riverside Park Hotel was flooded and hotel management evacuated hundreds of patrons. Cars were caught up in the floods on Templeshannon Quay and at the Promenade, some having to be removed by forklift.
Wexford County Council is to monitor the river, with crews on standby for action.
AS the frenetic waters of the River Slaney rose on Saturday evening, hearts in Enniscorthy sank once again as locals began to fear the worst.
With the town being no stranger to flooding, and the much acclaimed flood relief seemingly at least a year away from commencement, residents of the town once again offered prayers as the river level rapidly rose and enveloped the quays on Saturday evening.
Wexford County Council road crews were quick to act, having already put a plan in place following the weather warning issued for Storm Deirdre on Friday. Crews were on standby and the river levels were monitored, but on Saturday morning, it became clear that Enniscorthy may once again be in danger.
‘We activated our emergency flood plan early on Saturday,’ said District Manager Liz Hore. ‘At this point it was decided to get sandbags into place and over 2,500 of them were left in key locations around town. There were no delays and they were ready to go. When the river breached the banks, the crews were already mobilised and ready to go.’
The road at the Promenade was the first to disappear under into the Slaney’s clutches, and the road was sealed off with access to The Riverside Park Hotel being provided for via Salthouse Lane. However, as the situation got worse, the car park at the hotel flooded and the management and staff were forced to take action to move hundreds of patrons who had been attending Christmas parties out of the hotel as a precaution. As a consequence, Glow Beauty Rooms, the salon situated just off the underground car park, was completely flooded with water levels nearly half way up the door.
Salon owner Gillian O’Neill said they had a close call and nearly lost everything.
‘As you can imagine, we are absolutely gutted to be hit by the flood,’ she said. ‘Thankfully with the help of our family, we managed to get everything out in time and we have a relocation plan in place in the hotel. Thank you all so much for your kind messages and offers of help.’
Yesterday (Monday) the salon set up shop temporarily in the Linden Suite at the Hotel while work got underway to return things to normal.
Next to be enveloped was Templeshannon Quay, where business owners were forced to act rapidly to protect themselves from ruin. As always, the Bus Stop Shop was right in the path of the furious rising tide and owner Anne Swaine said they were extremely fortunate to prevent disaster.
‘We worked very hard and we managed to keep the flooding out,’ an exhausted Anne said. ‘We managed to get out earlier and get our barriers up and the sandbags in place. We were forced to close from around 6 p.m. on Saturday until Sunday evening though. It’s unfortunate because, with Christmas, that would have been one of our busiest weekends. As well as having people dropping into the shop as normal, we would have been busy taking orders from people for Christmas.’
While the loss of earnings is a bitter blow at this time of year, Anne was aware that things could have been much worse.
‘If it had’ve come in, Christmas would have been a dead loss,’ she said. ‘In terms of the flood relief, everything has been made public at this stage, but it’ll probably be three years before it’s done. That’s what one of the officials told us. At this stage we’ve learned to live with it. There’s not much we can do.’
Anne was keen to stress that it’s now business as normal at the shop, as they attempt to make up for the loss of a vital day’s takings at the busiest time of year.
It was a similar story at Berney’s Saddlery on Templeshannon Quay, where quick actions managed to save the day as the owners erected their flood barriers and moved all of their stock upstairs.
‘You wouldn’t believe the amount of work involved in it,’ said an exasperated Joe Bernie. ‘I’m in the middle of carrying boxes up and down the stairs as we speak. Thankfully we managed to get our flood barriers up in time.’
While the business owners on the Quay were quick to act, a couple of drivers returned to find their cars immersed in water. One woman had parked her car up near the Promenade before heading to Dublin for the day and when she returned, the water levels were up over the door sill.
Another vehicle parked up on Templeshannon Quay had to be lifted out by a huge forklift. For motorists who weren’t caught directly in the flood, there were major disruptions as traffic was diverted around town to avoid the rising waters.
While thankfully, Island Road didn’t seem to have borne the brunt of the flooding this time out, residents were facing an anxious wait on Saturday night as they offered prayers that their homes wouldn’t be devastated once more. Back in 2015, homes were left destroyed and President Michael D Higgins even visited home and business owners to offer his sympathies.
Among those watching the rising tide this time out was Ronan Furlong of Tyreworld.
‘It was a very close call,’ he said. ‘The water did come into the tyre centre a little bit at the back alright, but it wasn’t too bad thank God.
‘On Saturday night we were here until midnight, keeping an eye on the water levels and seeing what way things were going to go. At this stage though, I think the worst has passed and hopefully we should be alright.’
When compared to the flooding in 2015, Enniscorthy seems to have escaped rather lightly this time out. However, the waters testing the flood defences of businesses on the quay-front once again served as a timely reminder that no further delays can be tolerated and that Enniscorthy’s Flood Defence Scheme is urgently needed.
Speaking yesterday (Monday), District Manager Liz Hore said that Enniscorthy Municipal District Council was to have a special meeting that afternoon on the Flood Relief Scheme to look at the draft plans. She said that, following the most recent public consultation, one or two amendments are to be made before the scheme goes back on public display once more before going to the Minister for Public Expenditure.
‘The Minister and the council, we’re all pushing very hard for this because we know how important it is for Enniscorthy,’ she said. ‘
When we have incidents like we did at the weekend, it really helps focus the mind and there are no doubts that this is a real priority for Enniscorthy.’
At a recent council meeting, County Council Chairman Keith Doyle had expressed his disappointment at a lack of progress on the Flood Relief Scheme, stating that he had hoped to have the project on the Minister’s desk for adaption by the end of the year. T
he €45million for the project is said to be secured, a point which was confirmed by Minister of State for the Office of Public Works, Kevin Boxer Moran who visited Enniscorthy the last time there was a near miss and the river threatened to envelope the town and said he was ‘well aware’ of the town’s history of flooding. However, it is accepted that construction on the Flood Relief Scheme is unlikely to get underway until 2020 at the earliest.
‘Things could have been much worse,’ the District Manager concluded. ‘There were no presentations for emergency accommodation. In the past homes and businesses have been devastated. While it did affect one or two businesses, it didn’t do the same damage as other years.’