Silt deposits found after flood waters recede

A local landowner was shocked last week to find substantial silt deposits on his land in Carrickobrien after the latest flood waters receded. Tom Cleary, who has lived in Carrickobrien for 36 years, said while he had seen silt deposits on the land after floods receded in the past he had never seen it this bad . He explained that the flood waters in question were not from the big November flood, but a more recent flooding of the land on the Shannon Callows. Mr Cleary said if this amount of silt is left on the land and therefore in the River Shannon it is alarming to think of what could happen when there is heavy rain next winter. "If that's the amount of silt left on the Callows, it's frightening to think of what's down in Meelick," he said. When Mr Cleary discovered the silt on his land last week he contacted local Fianna Fáil councillor Aengus O'Rourke, who in turn contacted the OPW (Office of Public Works). Speaking to the Westmeath Independent last Friday Mr Cleary said: "The OPW was down yesterday (Thursday) and couldn't believe it was so bad." "The water can't flow fast enough anymore," he said. "It takes very little to bring up the flood water now. There is no room for water in the Shannon anymore." Mr Cleary said the silt in the river would be damaging to fish life and said the water in the Shannon at the moment is like a canal, rather than a river. He said the floods have become more frequent in the area in the last 20 years, but said he has never seen silt deposits at this level in the area before. Cllr Aengus O'Rourke, who visited the land last week, said the silt deposits in his view show that the bogs in the Carrickobrein/Golden Island area of Athlone are depositing thousands of tonnes of silt/peat into the Shannon on an ongoing basis. "The evidence is clear, I have walked the land and have the photographs to prove it, the bogs are depositing what must be thousands and thousands of tonnes of peat straight onto the floor of the Shannon. From my layman's perspective this can only mean one thing, where a solid mass like this goes into the river channel the water level rises, so as the floor of the river bed rises so to does the water level. I am no expert but an obvious conclusion is that as the bed of the river rises this also impacts on the rate at which the river flows away from Athlone. Hence, if the river bed is rising then the flow rate is slowed down and the water has nowhere to go. Another immediate problem as I see it is the threat to the wildlife in the area and fish, these deposits are so substantial that they are bound to impact negatively on fish and wildlife locally." Cllr O'Rourke called on the council to immediately engage with the relevant stakeholders like OPW, Waterway Ireland and Bord na Móna. "As Minister Martin Manseragh has taken such a hands-on approach to our flooding difficulties, I will be informing him immediately about this new evidence," he said.