Council to appeal to OPW for help with Owenmore River plan
THE Council is planning to make a submission to the OPW calling for help in putting together a management plan for the Owenmore River in Collooney which floods frequently.
Director of Services Tom Kilfeather told Councillor Thomas Healy and Margaret Gormley that “there is a bigger plan required but we are hoping to make a submission to the OPW on that.”
“We’re hoping to prioritise that. Someone will sit down over the next few months. We have to come up with a proposal and go tothe OPW and the Minister for the OPW Sean Canney and say ‘ who can help us to put this together’?” he said.
Cllr Healy said: “Some sort of a plan needs to be put in place. We’ve seen the effects of flooding on businesses and farmers. We need to be sitting down with the Minster and local drainage groups.”
Cllr Gormley said ¤ 100,000 would do a lot of work. “It is a major problem for farmers along the Owenmore River and its tributaries. I’m hoping that we meet with Minister ‘ Boxer’ Moran to try and resolve this problem,” she said.
Mr Kilfeather said only ¤ 38,000 and “no more” was available for river maintenance this year.