Limerick flooding concerns as ESB increases flow at Parteen Weir

THE ESB has announced that the discharge at Parteen Weir has increased from 200 cumecs to 240 cumecs this Tuesday.

A spokesperson said that they were increasing flows due to heavy rainfall in the catchment.

“This is also cogniscant of today’s Met Éireann forecast, which is predicting a higher level of rain in the catchment compared with yesterday’s. Again, the same proviso applies that we do not anticipate flooding as a direct result. 

“Downstream residents have been informed and we are continuing to liaise with the local authorities,” said the spokesperson.

John Hardiman, who resides in the Meadowbrook estate, Castleconnell, flooded in 2009, said his wife Linda is "very concerned".

“She looks out our bedroom window every morning and has seen the water rise steadily since the ESB raised the water level from 10 cumecs to 50 cumecs on December 16.

“In the intervening six weeks, it reached 90 cumecs on January 4 and we are now at a 12-month high at the moment.

“I'm happy that the ESB have their finger on the pulse and are doing all they can to keep us safe and dry. Also the daily texts from the ESB are excellent. It removes all the speculation and we are just dealing with facts,” said John.