Concern expressed at rising level of Limerick river

THE VICE-CHAIRMAN of Askeaton Community Council has expressed his concern over the rising water of the River Deel.

Joe Whelan was shocked to see the waterway through the town almost up to the level of the bridge beside Desmond Castle during Storm Darragh.

“If we had another half day of rain, we might not have come out of it. It would have flooded the quays and taken the bridge with it,” he said.

Now Joe, who runs a guest house near the town, wants to see the issue of the rising tide tackled before something like this does happen.

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He took the picture of the river when he was putting up Christmas lights in Askeaton.

“The current on the Deel is horrendous. This shows it, these pictures are facts. You can’t argue with them. It is worrying for the future,” he added.

He has called for either Limerick City and County Council, or the Office of Public Works to take the waterway in charge, and examine ways to prevent the overflowing in the future.

“We have to look up the river. Is there anything happening upstream towards the estuary that should not be happening? Is water coming down too fast? Are the flood plains being placed under jeopardy? It’s something we need to look at,” he said.

Mr Whelan, who up until earlier this year chaired the community council, added: “We cannot go on draining land and getting water into the river much quicker than we did years ago. There is an impact downstream and we are seeing it now. It’s not popular to say it, but that’s what is happening.”

Joe wants to see someone take a look at the river as a whole from the Shannon Estuary to its source.

“It needs to be surveyed,” he said.

“The amount of rain we get is not going to change. We are going to get more. We need to cope with it into the future.”

The quays in Askeaton are no stranger to being flooded when there is heavy rain.

But Joe believes it is the first time the bridge has been put under threat.