The Wexford County Council Major Emergency Team met on St. Stephen’s Day to assess the flood damage where they were briefed by the Director of Services for Roads with Wexford County Council, Eamonn Hore.
We outlined the extent of the damage caused across the county by the previous day’s floods.
As of 4:00 p.m., the town of Enniscorthy remained flooded. “The situation was under constant review, with crews from other districts helping.”
By then, four bridges had been completely washed away, with subsequent road closures at: Wilton, Kilcarbery, Ballyroebuck and Mangan.
Other bridges in Enniscorthy District have been inspected for structural damage, with many roads in Enniscorthy District suffering structural damage and severe chafing.
In the New Ross neighborhood, two bridges were washed away, another was badly damaged, and roads at Cullenstown Little and Raheen Clonroche R735 Adamstown were closed.
Other bridges have been examined for structural damage, while other roads in the New Ross District have suffered structural damage, potholes and severe chafing.
Severe flooding affected streets in Trinity, The Dirr, Foulkesmills to Taghmon, Hodgesmill, Slevoy, Mayglass, Taylorstown, Bridgetown
Murrintown and Wellingtonbridge, Duncormick, Orristown / Kilinick and Drinagh and many other streets in the Rosslare district.
Trinity to Taghmon Road was closed until Monday.
Structural damage to bridges at Ballylannon and Mill of Rags has been recorded.
In the Gorey-Kilmuckridge district, severe flooding affected the roads at the railroad bridges, Garden City, M11 at Junction 25, Riverchapel, Courtown, Blackwater, Hollyfort, Killenagh and Inch.
In the Wexford borough, roads in Castlebridge, Barntown / Keelogues and Killurin were flooded
“The bill for damage to road infrastructure will be hundreds of thousands, if not millions, to be fixed and will be assessed in greater detail over the next few days and weeks,” Hore said. “This will require substantial support from the central government, which we hope will take place shortly.”
Meanwhile, heavy rain over Christmas Day caused a deterioration in the raw water supplying surface water facilities in County Wexford, but almost all sewage treatment plants remained operational during the period, with caretakers on hand if problems arose.
“Many of the feeders were flooded, which had an impact on production volume, but the staff managed the situation and there was no impact on consumers. The sewage treatment plant in Ferns was shut down due to poor raw water quality and the supply was supplied with reservoirs. “
The fern factory was put back into operation on St. All river sources were monitored as the quality remained poor after the bad weather.
A local outage in Deerpark’s well supply was corrected and supplies restored on Christmas Day.
The employees in all areas of the water supply were out and about on Christmas Day
Sewage treatment plants to ensure continuity of supply. 17 employees were
across the county to visit construction sites in difficult conditions
Christmas holiday with additional supervision by the supervisory staff. Lots
The caretakers worked all day to ensure that the water supply to consumers was not interrupted or impaired by the very poor raw water quality.
The inlet at New Ross was flooded while staff were present and the pump capacity was affected by the debris in the river. Production at the Taylorstown plant also declined due to the condition of the Owenduff River.
Efforts have been made to divert supplies from Fardystown to Taylorstown, but critical valves were inaccessible due to the extreme flooding in Rathangan.
Access to the sites was very difficult due to flooding. Maiglas
Precipitation monitor recorded 39 mm between Christmas Eve and
Christmas morning and another 29mm between Christmas morning and Stephen’s Day morning. Only seven houses were affected by the temporary failure of the water supply and this was restored in the early afternoon.
Mr Hore said data is still being collected on the extent of the damage caused after the biblical downpour of Christmas 2021.
“Even if seven bridges are literally washed away, we won’t even be able to see the structural damage until the water subsides. The extent of the damage cannot yet be estimated. “
He estimates that around 30 houses and shops were flooded in the entire district, as around 90 mm of rain fell within several hours on Christmas Day.
“We had some important emergency meetings before Storm Barra, and we had one on the Thursday before Christmas before we parted, so everyone would be on their toes if something happened. Then we got a yellow rain warning and often that’s not much. “
The intensity and extent of the precipitation were completely unexpected, he said.
“It was torrential. RTE reported 90 mm of rain in a few hours. Bridges would have been washed away even if sandbags etc. had been set up. “
Mr Hore said the cost of repairing the seven bridges and strengthening other bridges and roads in the county will run into the millions. “What we need now is funding. Many roads in Wexford have already been bad so we can’t really afford the damage. We certainly expect to receive funding to repair the damage to these bridges and roads, and we expect general road funding to increase in 2022. “
Mr. Hore was disappointed, if not surprised, to see Enniscorthy flooded again.
“I broke my teeth in Enniscorthy in the 1990s when I was a field engineer there. It’s a shame that the flood project took so long; It is bureaucratic and the department is waiting for an external agency to give the green light. “
He remembers the signage for the new bridge, which is part of the flood protection program and was designed before the Enniscorthy bypass opened.
“That was four or five years ago when the signs were designed.”
Mr. Hore commended the council road workers for potentially saving lives over Christmas.
“They blocked the streets. Serious accidents would have occurred if the crews had not been on the road and had not set up entrance and diversion signs. Without them, people could have gone straight to the rivers where the bridges used to be.
“Signs, cones, flashlights, all of this is really important. They checked which streets had to be closed and helped the fire department. They deserve full credit. Hundreds of boys gave up Christmas to help what they could.”
Mr. Hore said his condolences go out to the affected business owners and local residents. “Of course your heart goes out to the people who have suffered flood damage. We organized dumping grounds for Bridgetown to help clean up houses. “
Mr Hore said the total funding required will be known in the coming days, adding that he suspects it will run into the millions.
Residents and business owners are compensated separately provided their income does not exceed the means tested limits. “It becomes costly between replacing the floor coverings that have been dropped, the heating, the electrics and all the furniture that was on the ground floor.”
He mentioned New Ross as a good example of a city that, unlike Enniscorthy, had benefited from a strong flood wall. “New Ross would have flooded three times since the 2015 flood works. The Garda train station, shops along the quay such as Side’s Diner would have all been flooded and roads would have been closed again, so we would have avoided that three times. “
