Major North Tipp flooding problem could take years to fix

A MAJOR flooding problem near the village of Carrigahorig has been an issue for several years but it could take several more years to fix, a local councillor warned this week.
Cllr Michael O'Meara told the Tribune that the flooding is happening at an environmentally sensitive area, which means that any improvement works have to go through a number of hoops before they get the go ahead.
The flooding is severe when it happens. It occurs at the junction of the N65 from Portumna to Borrisokane and the road to Lorrha. The junction is known locally as Lorrha Cross.
“There are two SACs on either side of the roadway,” explained Cllr O'Meara. “Because of this we will need An Bord Pleanala planning permission before we can raise the road level. In other words tackling this issue is outside the Council's authority. The authority lies with An Bord Pleanála and because the landscape is complicated in that location, it could take a number of years before something is done about the problem.”
A recent meeting of Nenagh Municipal District was given an update about the issue.
A Director of Services told the councillors that flooding of a short section of the N65 north of Carrigahorig results when Lough Derg lake rises significantly during severe flooding events. “The most recent flooding events,” he said, “took place in 2019, 2015/2016 and 2009.”
He said the Council “cannot carry out physical works to raise the road level at present due to a number of significant constraints and engineering challenges in determining a suitable solution/road scheme to prevent the road from flooding. The main issue here is there are two Natura 2000 sites (Lough Derg, North east Shore SAC and Lough Derg (Shannon) SPA) located immediately adjacent to the proposed project. Natura 2000 sites are Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) designated under the Habitats Directive and Special Protection Areas (SPAs) designated under the Conservation of Wild Birds Directive (79 / 409 / EEC).”
The Director of Services added that the road in this location is also built on soft peaty ground.
“On the basis of its proximity to the two Natura 2000 sites,” he continued, “any significant works to raise the road level at this location requires planning consent from An Bord Pleanála.”
He said preparations for a planning submission to An Bord Pleanála are underway and due to the significant environmental and ecological sensitivities several studies have been conducted and completed to-date by the Council to determine flood risk, ecological, environmental and other impacts/constraints and also an initial assessment of ground conditions has been completed.
Once planning consent is obtained, the Council will complete the detailed design process.
“A ground investigation has now been completed and the scheme has been formally categorised as a Minor Improvement Scheme. The Council has now received approval from TII to appoint a consultant to continue with the preliminary design.”
During a number of the flooding incidents, including 2015 and 2019, daredevils have water-skied and jet-skied on the floodwaters, and posted their escapades on social media, which subsequently went viral.
The matter has been raised many times during the meetings of the local authority over several years but still nothing has been done.