I apologise on behalf of our county manager, Jackie Maguire, who unfortunately cannot be present. She is in plaster after a minor mishap.
We were under the misapprehension we could make a PowerPoint presentation. I have circulated a copy of the slides we had hoped to use and I will talk my way through them. Leitrim was hit with two severe weather events in close proximity. The first was the flooding, which started on 19 November and lasted until 7 December. Towns and villages such as Leitrim village, Carrick-on-Shannon, Jamestown, Dromod and Rooskey along the River Shannon were involved. The flood levels recorded were 30 mm higher than the highest ever recorded in the area. We were barely over that when we were hit on 19 December with frost and snow, which lasted until 17 January. We are used to frost and snow but the difference this time was the intensity of the frost and the duration of the storm event.
I refer to the photographs — I can forward larger copies if the committee so requires — that show the extent of flooding in and around Carrick-on-Shannon. The national primary route into the town was flooded. The R280, which is the principal road out of the town to north Leitrim, flooded on a number of occasions in Carrick-on-Shannon and in Leitrim village. The floods started on 16 November and peaked on 27 November. It was a relatively gradual event and this gave the county council time to deal with threats to the wastewater system in the first instance and then the water supply system, and allowed us to deal with issues such as road closures and so on.
With regard to the response, the major emergency plan was not activated in Leitrim. We did not feel there was any need for it because the response was well within our own capabilities. However, the emergency protocols were followed. A crisis management team met twice daily and we liaised with outside agencies such as Waterways Ireland, the ESB, the Garda, etc. We also supplied daily reports to the major emergency group when it was set up, and the local media, websites and so on were important. We had an issue regarding rumours and counter rumours over the possibility of water being released at Lough Allen and the danger of Carrick-on-Shannon being swamped. It was important, therefore, that we got the message out clearly. All the departments of Leitrim County Council were fully employed in this emergency.
The relatively slow build up of the flood waters allowed the county council to supply 15,000 sandbags to protect property and this was relatively successful. A relatively small number of houses were flooded in Leitrim, despite the magnitude of the flood. Our priority was to do things like keep the national primary route open and provide suitable diversions as flood waters took out different roads. Pedestrians within towns and villages also had to be accommodated and we did temporary works to accommodate that. Approximately 50 staff worked full time on that, many of them around the clock.
The next photograph is of Cryans hotel in the centre of Carrick-on-Shannon. This would have been flooded but for the heroic efforts of the council staff and the owners, which prevented the water getting in and the hotel survived. We were pleased about that. The next slide relates to a clever idea for a temporary boardwalk. This scaffolding was erected along a 200m stretch through the flood, which allowed access from the housing estates into the town.
From the water services point of view, the priority had to be keeping the south Leitrim regional water supply intake intact. This serves 60% of the population in the county. Leitrim was lucky in that unlike Cork, we were able to take action to protect the supply. Prompt action by the water services staff allowed the control panels to be raised above the flood level. There was a limit to what could be done in this regard and, therefore, we thought it prudent at the time to put in a temporary pumping facility. Fortunately, we did not have to use it but it is good to know it is there if we need it.
I refer to the economic effect. Approximately 38 properties were flooded in County Leitrim — 23 residential, 12 commercial and three offices. However, economic activity in the town was suspended for the duration of the flood. One large hotel, two restaurants, two garages, a large hardware business and a number of shop units closed. Unfortunately, the hardware business has not reopened yet.
In excess of €600,000 was spent by the county council. This covered the provision of sandbags, labour and the cost of cleaning up after the operation. It did not include costs for damage to county roads or roads used as detours. We estimate that could be in excess of €1.8 million. As no further funding will be made available this year, this money will have to be taken out of our normal road grants.
One of the other challenges we faced with the flooding related to the wastewater system. The networks in the villages were under water and there was a severe threat to the sewerage system. Fortunately, the main pumping station in Carrick-on-Shannon was kept going by means of 24-hour pumping and that prevented a major problem. We were pleased that at least while some areas in the town had only partial sewerage facilities for up to two weeks, most of the town succeeded in carrying on regardless, which was quite good.
I refer to what can be done in the future. It is not acceptable that regional and national primary roads can be cut off and towns and villages isolated. It is possible to raise the road levels above flood level but we estimate that would cost in excess of €4 million around Carrick-on-Shannon. A detailed cost benefit analysis would be required. However, significant flood prevention and defence measures will be required to prevent flooding of businesses and properties and a detailed analysis of the River Shannon basin would be required before any such work could be carried out. National funding would be essential.
There was confusion as to which body was responsible for the river. Was it Waterways Ireland, the OPW, the ESB or the local authorities? It is clear there is a need for a single authority to control the levels of the river and all the stakeholders need to be involved in that. Major emergency plans must include contact numbers for senior personnel in the various agencies and their roles and responsibilities should be clearly identified. When we contacted them, it was dial 1 for this and 2 for that and that is not acceptable in a crisis. Communications are vital. We strive at all times to be clear, easily understood and to the point. Communications need to deal with the public's concerns, whether real or imaginary. That was a major issue for us. There were many rumours and counter rumours with which we had to deal. That took a great deal of time in the middle of all the other activities we had to deal with. We need a detailed study of the cause of flooding in the upper Shannon and the question of the storage capability of Lough Allen must be addressed. Can it be increased and what would the effect be on Carrick-on-Shannon? The influence of the Boyle river, which contributes approximately 60% of the water that comes to Carrick-on-Shannon, is another factor. There are currently no studies on that and nobody has a handle on the effect on flood waters in Carrick-on-Shannon. The Shannon-Erne waterway was largely responsible for the flooding in Leitrim village and this issue must be considered and studied separately. Possible flood defences must be analysed, costed and worked out. The Jamestown weir has arisen in our discussions with the various bodies as a possible controlling factor for flood levels in Carrick-on-Shannon. These are all complex issues and require detailed study.
The response on the issue of the frost was different. Our situation started on 19 December and continued until 17 January. The prolonged nature and intensity of the frost made this a serious event. We had significant problems in two main areas, roads and water services. Leitrim County Council's policy on gritting is set out in the severe weather plan. The basic aim of the plan is to keep our national primary routes and significant regional roads clear. On 19 December, we received a snow warning and in advance of the snow, all of the national primary routes and regional roads in the county were salted. In total, some 75 km of national routes and 275 km of regional roads were salted. Over the following 23 days, all of the national and regional routes were gritted at least once a day. The national primary routes were possibly done two or three times a day. It is not possible to grit every road, but local roads were attended to on a case by case basis. Priority was given to routes where there would be funerals and routes used by district doctors and nurses and so on. We set up a dedicated manned hotline from 28 December and all traffic routes within the county were kept "passable with care". Over the period, all of the council staff were actively involved in this work. Given the prolonged nature of the event, in the last week it was decided to accept the offer from the Army to grit private housing estates. This was useful and the Army was a great help to the council.
Some 1,800 tonnes of salt were used during the 23-day period. This equates to a normal full year's supply. An additional 2,000 tonnes of grit were used on regional and local roads. Grit was deposited on hills and at junctions and was made available for collection at council depots. While salt was difficult to obtain and had to be retained for the national routes, Leitrim County Council had supplies for three or four days at all times. Mixing salt and grit was effective and conserved salt.
On the issue of problems with regard to water supply, just before Christmas, we noticed that water demand had increased by 40%. On 24 December, the reservoirs became dangerously low and Leitrim County Council began active management, with curtailing, rationing and turning off supplies at night. From 24 December through January, through the holiday period, the water services staff worked 12-hour days to address the water shortages and share out the available water as best they could. Typical causes of the shortages were: taps left running to prevent pipes from freezing, frozen and burst pipes in unoccupied houses and leaks in the public mains and in group schemes. We had a particular problem with group schemes where effective committees no longer existed. Over one-third of all the water produced by Leitrim County Council is distributed to customers through private group water schemes.
The major emergency plan was not activated, but the protocols were followed. The crisis management team convened on 27 December and had daily meetings thereafter. Dedicated hotlines were set up on 29 December to deal with customer queries and to advise the public on how to deal with frost related problems on their property. Detailed briefings on water outages, road conditions and so on were placed on the council's websites and provided to the national and local media on a daily basis. We made extensive use of the local radio system. Our staff were also made available to group water scheme groups to advise them on leak detection and so on. Due to the shortage of water, the fire service was required to provide water tankers at various locations throughout the county. That lasted for approximately one and a half weeks. The Civil Defence was very involved in the council's response, looking after vulnerable people and assisting public health nurses and the HSE with 4X4 ambulances.
Everything has a cost. The total cost to Leitrim County Council of its response was €850,000, a sum the council does not have. The issue for the future is that we must have clarity with regard to the level of service required or that can be afforded within the budget available. The question of the priority that should be given to keeping footpaths clear became an important issue for us. We had to consider whether they were as important as roads or whether roads were more important and whether the responsibility for clearing outside premises should be placed on property owners. We need clarity on public liability implications where members of the public are involved in gritting roads. This issue was an impediment to some communities working to help themselves. However, as the storm developed, people had to get over that and do what they could.
We need salt to be procured nationally and distributed fairly. There was an unseemly rush to Cork, Limerick and various places by all county councils trying to get salt, resulting in queues. Salt should be procured nationally, but there should be a clear policy to ensure every county gets its fair share of it. While we could never maintain the sort of stockpile of salt that was required this year, we need to increase facilities for storing salt and for maintaining an increased stockpile.
