'No progress' on addressing Athlone road's long-standing flooding issue

Westmeath County Council had admitted there was "no engagement" in the last year between itself and Uisce Éireann over the persistent flooding issues being experienced along Retreat Road in Athlone.

At the January meeting of the Athlone Moate Municipal District, the local authority said it had not engaged with Uisce Éireann in relation to Retreat Road in the last twelve months, but that the matter would be "progressed" in 2024.

This was in response to Cllr Aengus O'Rourke, who had asked for an update on a plan to deal with the "long-standing flooding issues" on the busy local road.

Cllr O'Rourke said he was "disappointed" with the lack of engagement between the two state authorities.

"What sort of progress will we see in 2024, given that there has been little progress heretofore?" he asked.

Council director of services Barry Kehoe replied that work to address flooding on Retreat Road had originally been pencilled in as part of the Athlone Main Drainage Scheme.

However, the road had not ultimately been included in the schedule of works to be completed under the Main Drainage Scheme, which is currently underway.

"It wasn't included in the contract that is currently on site. From an Uisce Éireann perspective, Retreat Road was (an issue with) surface water drainage, rather than foul water drainage which is their responsibility," said Mr Kehoe.

He added that the local authority hoped to "reach agreement with Uisce Éireann" on a project at Retreat Road this year.

"What we were doing was letting this current (main drainage) contract get on site, get commenced, get underway, and then we would go back and see what we could do with (Retreat Road)."

He added that the local authority hoped to make progress with Uisce Éireann on the matter over the coming months.