Westport river’s islands ‘could raise flooding risk’

CONTROVERSY The vegetation in the Carrowbeg River at the Mall in Westport (pictured here in August) has caused plenty of talk in the town this year. Pic: The Mayo News

IFI expert says silt beds should only be removed after June 1

Michael Gallagher

The controversial silt islands in the Mall River in Westport may cause flooding in the town if they are not removed, according to an Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) expert.
The IFI’s Padraic O’Malley said that he believed that these silt banks were originally installed as a resting place for the famous Westport ducks, and explained they have recently become covered with vegetation, which has increased fears of flooding in the town and surrounds.
Speaking at the West Mayo Municipal Area meeting yesterday (Monday), Mr O’Malley told councillors that in the event of a major ‘one-in-25-year’ flood, the islands may indeed cause a build-up of water in the town centre and subsequently downstream from The Mall.
Padraic O’Malley said the IFI had no preference when it came to the question of leaving the silt islands in place or removing them. However, he did say any removal should occur after June 1, in order to allow spawning take place.
“The silt islands have attracted a lot of attention lately. They were put in as resting places for the ducks I think, and I see there is current signage on them saying they must be preserved as pollination beds, but that has absolutely nothing to do with us.
“We have no interest in their retention or the removal. If you want to remove them do so, but leave them where they are until after spawning season.”

Tree saplings
Cllr Christy Hyland welcomed the statement and said the silt beds had to go.
“Your home is your castle,” he said, “so I’m putting my head on the block here. The islands have to go. There’s a possibility of them causing flooding in the town and downstream, and there’s no way that can be allowed. We’re spending thousands putting in flood defences in other ares of the town, so any possibility of The Mall flooding needs to be eradicated. Houses have to be protected. It’s as simple as that.”
Cllr Peter Flynn asked if the silt beds meant the town centre was more at risk of flooding, and Mr O’Malley answered in the affirmative.
“The potential for flooding is an engineering issue in the main. However, in my experience the islands certainly would have an impact on a one-in-25-year flood. The fact that they’re situated near a bridge is also a contributory factor,” he added.
Cllr Hyland then raised the issue of biodiversity, and the environmental benefits of the vegetation on the silt islands.
“I’m as interested in protecting the environment as the next man, but there are tree saplings actually growing out of these beds in the centre of the river. Do people want us to come and have a look at the new trees in the middle of the river while our houses flood?”
The river had previously been cleaned regularly by the Westport Trout Anglers, and Cllr Brendan Mulroy asked Mr O’Malley if Inland Fisheries Ireland had any objection to that happening again.
“We have absolutely no objection to the river being cleaned outside spawning season, and if the saplings and vegetation are causing major fears of flooding, then the Council’s engineer can always apply for a derogation to have the silt banks cleared immediately,” he added.

Opinions split
Some in the town view the silt islands as unsightly and have previously called for their removal. However, their presence and the biodiversity they support and encourage has previously been defended in this paper by Westport Tidy Towns Biodiversity Officer Pat Fahy. In an article carried in the Living section of The Mayo News in August, Mr Fahy wrote that the banks, or ‘gravel beds’ are ‘100 percent natural: deposited by Storm Ophelia in 2017’ and that this ‘effortless work of nature has been developing ever since’.
The signage on the beds states that they and vegetation they support are ‘managed for wildlife’ with reference to the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan. The signage also carries the Mayo County Council logo.