Flood risk maps get cold water treatment at County Hall

By TONY GALVIN GALWAY is to have a scientifically based flood risk map and computer model by 2015 and this data will determine the development patterns of the county for many decades to come. This was the message conveyed to members of Galway Co Council at a meeting in County Hall this week, but the news got a lukewarm reception from local representatives. The OPW in conjunction with the Co Council argue that the latest scientific methods of monitoring and assessing flood risk have to be employed to ensure there is not a repeat of the devastation experienced by many families as a result of the 2009 floods. However, many public representatives expressed the view that the new maps could render large areas of the county as â€Ëœno-development zonesâ€â„¢ and worried that they could become a bureaucratic obstacle for many rural families seeking to provide sites for children in the future. Jonathan Cooper of JBA Consultants told the members that climate change was a reality everyone had to live with and the modern mapping methods being employed by the OPW would ensure no more homes would be built where there was a risk of flooding. He quoted from a UK source, stating: â€Å“The impact of flooding is like a death in the family and has similar long-term consequences.â€Â He said the next stage was to get out into the communities throughout the county and gather local knowledge on flooding. The aim is to get as may people involved in the process as possible, so the database can be as complete as possible when compiling the final maps. It was these long-term consequences which exercised the minds of many councillors when this progress report on the countyâ€â„¢s flood risk mapping and assessment programme was outlined to them. The general consensus at the meeting was that while it was recognised there was a need for a reliable mapping and flood warning system to be put in place, there were concerns that such a system could render property values at less than worthless if they were found to be located within a flood risk area. Several councillors questioned the veracity of the methods employed by the OPW and their agents in drawing up their maps. However, OPW spokes­persons insisted that the maps were necessary to safeguard the public and their methods were based on international best practice. It was explained that Ireland was lagging behind in this area and that some maps being used were drawn up as far back as the1830s. Jonathan Cooper of JBA Consultants outlined the steps being taken to provide Co Galway and the entire country with a detailed and reliable computer model of all water courses and coastal areas so that planners in future will be able to gauge accurately which areas should not be developed and where and when the highest risks of flooding will occur. He warned against what he termed â€Å“urban mythsâ€Â in this field. People might say a certain area has never flooded in living memory but a survey based on the model they were building up might show that there was a very real risk of flooding in the future. He explained that this model would take into account factors such as climate change and no matter how people feel about climate change, it had to be factored in for the safety of future generations. However, many councillors were more concerned about the present than the future. There were complaints that the flood risk map and model would be added to existing legislation such as Special Areas of Conservation and the result would be a shrinkage of land on which planning permission will be granted. It was also argued that property could be put in the flood risk category without the owners knowing about it and they would only find out when they applied for planning permission, possibly for a son or daughter to build a home on a family holding. There was also concern that the cost of getting a site taken out of the flood risk category could prove prohibitive for many, as the individual appealing would have to bear the cost of their own hydrology reports.