TOBERMORY FLOODING CRISIS
Climate change is giving Tobermory’s waterfront a lashing while the town waits for urgently needed flood-proofing.
A tidal surge almost one metre high topped a peak five-metre tide leaving some of Tobermory’s main street and clock tower area under water last week. Just a fraction higher than 5.8ms would have brought the flood lapping at shop doors.
Vehicles at hardest-hit Ledaig car park were submerged up to their axles and wheel hubs, and drains were overflowing.
Only the first phase of flood-proofing work along the main street has been carried out so far and that is being blamed by some for diverting high waters to the car park end of town.
Water was also up against an electric car charging point in the car park and Lewis Gallagher who owns the Harbour Garage was left counting the cost after one metre of flood water swept into the workshop, damaging machinery.
Mr Gallagher, whose business has previously suffered about £50,000 of flood damage, said defence work to protect the waterfront car park and properties needs to be done “yesterday”.
“Because they’ve only completed some of the defences along the main street, it’s sending water our way. Work to finish the sea wall and to protect the car park needs to be done yesterday,” he said.
A warning has also come from Tobermory Harbour Authority chairman Brian Swinbanks that water levels are increasing as a result of the climate crisis, leaving parts of the tourist town more vulnerable to flooding than before.
Mr Gallagher says he is also “100 per cent sure” waters are rising, a crisis he can not afford.
“The last bad flood left us £50,000 in the red. You can’t get insurance for flooding. Then Covid hit us hard and now this. Work needs to be done yesterday to stop it from happening again,” he said, adding flood gates at the slipway near the car park would be part of a solution.
“There was water up to the electric charging point. People don’t always put things back as they should; the plug was just hanging there. That could be hazardous for someone,” added Mr Gallagher.
Work is expected to start this spring on completing a flood defence wall but it will only protect the main street. Mull-based contractor TSL has been awarded the contract. The sooner it starts, the better says Mr Swinbanks who added the bad news is there are no scheduled defences for the Ledaig car park which lies lower than the main street.
“It was the surge on top of the tide that did the latest
damage. It goes down in about one and a half hours but water levels are increasing as a result of climate change and we are definitely experiencing that in Tobermory.
“Ledaig car park is a really big problem. There are no scheduled defences for it at the moment but we know where they are needed,” said Mr Swinbanks who has pushed hard to flood-proof Tobermory, researching, designing and costing schemes to present to Argyll and Bute Council.
Defences are needed in three places to stop flooding coming up over the slipway and over the pontoons near Ledaig. Non-return valves also need to be fitted in the fresh water drains and the sewage system.
The first stage of work on sea defences along the main street has already been carried out. When finished, it will run from the point of the river at one end up to Mishnish pier. A floodgate has been installed at the fisherman’s pier.
“The small defensive wall will protect the shops and properties along the front street but it won’t do anything until it is completely finished because the water would just go round the gaps.
“The council has awarded the contract to TSL and we hope work will start soon.
“That’s the good news but the bad news is Ledaig car park is a really big problem. There are no scheduled defences for it. It’s slightly lower than the main street so it’s vulnerable. Cars were right up to their axles in water. A little electric car was up to its wheel hubs,” said Mr Swinbanks.
There is some hope on the horizon, however, after Argyll and Bute Council’s head of roads and infrastructure services Jim Smith sent a letter showing a willing to work with Tobermory Harbour Authority and others in the community to deliver a solution.
Former Argyll and Bute Councillor and current Mull community councillor MaryJean Devon said the effect of the latest flood was a surprise because money for second stage flood defences had been granted to the town in 2022.
“This problem has been happening for a long time and Argyll and Bute Council are aware of it. The longer they wait to carry out work, the more it will cost,” she said.
The community is also exploring creating some kind of flood alert system for businesses that could be at risk when the “perfect storm” is brewing and as a warning to shut flood gates. A combination of high/ spring tides, low pressure and wind are factors that could predict when flooding could be a risk.