While Wexford town got off lightly in comparison to Enniscorthy, Bunclody, and Bridgetown, it did not entirely escape the clutches of Storm Chandra earlier this year. The deployment of aqua dams on the Quay front prevented the Slaney from bursting its banks in Wexford town, thus avoiding the scenes which decimated other parts of the county.
However, the county town and its surrounds have experienced severe flooding incidences in the past with roads, residential areas, and public amenities overwhelmed during storm events in recent years.
In an effort to protect the area into the future, Wexford County Council (WCC) is devising a Flood Relief Scheme for Wexford town and its environs.
Still in the preliminary design stage, the scheme will focus on eight key areas: the National Heritage Park, the Ferrycarrig Hotel, Upper Farnogue River, Carcur Road, Wexford Quay & Town Centre, the Upper Horse River, the Kerlogue River, and Ferrybank.
As it develops the scheme, the council has invited the public to share their opinions on the proposed options for each of the areas. It held the second of its public participation days in Whites Hotel last month and has subsequently published a draft of the scheme including the available options to alleviate flooding in each area.
Outlining the cause of repeated flooding events at the Heritage Park, the council states that it is the result of “coastal/tidal influences from Slaney estuary levels due to restricted culvert capacity, manhole surcharging, riverbank overtopping, and overland flow through the railway underpass”.
“These combined flood mechanisms can significantly impact key infrastructure, including the visitor centre, car park, access roads, and nearby footpaths,” the report reads.
The proposed measures to prevent future flooding events at the Heritage Park are widening the river “upstream of the railway track”, installing removable defence barriers and permanent walls with removable sections, and focusing on “individual property protection by protecting building openings to prevent floodwaters from entering vulnerable properties”.
At the Ferrycarrig Hotel which is “primarily at risk from coastal flooding”, the council is proposing the “construction of a hard defence” with additional demountable barriers and, in the case of the impacted properties, “resilience measures” including “flood resilient flooring, high level electrical points, and tiled walls”.
With repeated flooding of the Upper Farnogue River affecting properties in the Newtown Court estate, WCC is proposing two possible remedies: the construction of a wall between the channel and the affected house(s) to “restrict the bank overflow on the house side” and “retain the flood water within the garden area only”, or the installation of a new sealed culvert pipe to carry the increased flow volume during flood events to prevent overflow to the surface.
Protecting properties in Parkside is the main priority of part one of proposed works at Carcur Road with two options to be chosen from. The first of these would see the flood walls built at “key locations” and a further wall constructed around the wastewater pumping station to protect it from flooding. The second option proposed by WCC is the provision of individual flood defence barriers to impacted houses.
Further away from the houses, in part two of the Carcur Road proposals, there are options to install a “walled defence on the shoreside of the railway track to protect against the high tide flooding”, “raise the railway embankment top level to above the predicted flood levels”, or build a “flood wall behind the properties of the Townparks area”.
In the Wexford town and Quay front area, the proposed options range from new pipes on Bride Street or King St, a pump sump (used to remove water that has accumulated in a water-collecting sump basin), “hard defences” from the shore edge from the Yacht and Tennis Club all the way to Trinity Wharf, or individual property protection measures.
Flooding events at the Kerlogue River impact Sinnottstown Lane and nearby lands, including isolated properties during more extreme events. To combat this, WCC is proposing the construction of an embankment on the right bank of the channel or the installation of defences along the outside of the field.
Lastly, at Ferrybank, where floods impact “properties, transport infrastructure, and low-lying land”, the available options are to “construct hard defences on the shoreside or property side of the road”, or individual property protection for at risk properties on the old bridge embankment.
The impacts of these shortlisted options will be evaluated in a scored Multi-Criteria Analysis to determine a ranking of each option. These rankings, together with the public opinions of the options, will be used to determine which option should be brought forward as the preferred option.
Full details of the Flood Relief Scheme can be found at https://www.floodinfo.ie/frs/en/wexford/home/ where members of the public have until September 21 to provide feedback on the proposals thus far.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.