Bettystown residents count cost of weekend deluge: ‘We need the flood wall’ pledged by OPW

Residents of the Village in Bettystown, a red-brick cul-de-sac of bungalows built as holiday homes, woke up to torrential rain on Saturday morning. Some 44mm had fallen in a 24-hour period, overwhelming the streams on either side of the Celtic Tiger-era development.

In the nearby Northlands estate, people who live there began pumping water frantically away from their homes. But this just shifted a problem from one flood-prone location towards another.

Within the space of a few hours, the Village was deluged by water and sewage. It seeped through sandbags and within a couple of hours had flooded all but three homes in the estate.

[ Letters: Council rezones flood plain for housing ]

[ Weather set to improve this week after weekend flooding ]

A series of events caused a perfect storm — the wettest July on record saturated the ground, there was high tide on Saturday occasioned by a supermoon, many of the conduits supposed to divert the rainwater were blocked and then came the rain.

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Elaine Robinson, a resident of the Village, woke on Saturday at 8.45am to the sound of rain hammering down outside. A concealed stream running around the perimeter of the estate had burst its banks and was flooding the road. She alerted her neighbours and had to phone the fire brigade three times. She went back inside to retrieve her dogs and climbed out the window as the water level built at her doorway.

The water has since subsided but has left a trail of destruction that will cost thousands to remedy. The burden will fall on residents without home insurance because the Village is on a floodplain. Meath County Council has given residents free skips and dehumidifiers. Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys on Thursday said the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme would support those living in properties directly affected by the recent flooding in Co Meath.

Michael Mills’s home was flooded and he is still pumping water away three days later. His skirting boards, three-piece leather suite, carpets he was about to put into his house, and collection of hardback books on the second World War were destroyed.

The residents claim the flooding was preventable. They say the Office of Public Works (OPW) said a flood relief scheme would be put in place three years ago, but it did not happen.

Patricia O’Sullivan’s bedroom, utility room and bathroom were deluged. She has taken up the flooring and carpeting throughout the house.

“We were promised three years ago that we would get flood defences. All of a sudden it went quiet. We have been fighting this for 12 years. All I want to say to the OPW is, ‘I told you so’. We need the flood wall they promised us.”

Gerald O’Brien was one of the lucky ones as he had seals on the bottom of his doors which kept the water out, though his shed and utility rooms were swamped. He said he understood the flood works were due to start last September, but they did not.

“All the local politicians have promised to put pressure on the OPW. Pressure is for tyres. We need money to get this done,” he said.

Fine Gael Cllr Paddy Meade said the problems of flooding will continue while east Co Meath is used as a commuter hub for Dublin.

“We can talk about high tides, we can talk about wet Julys. We can talk about OPW delays in building flood walls, but the serious over-development to cater for Dublin’s growing population is a serious factor,” he said. “Today we need urgent help with supplies and beds, but tomorrow we need intervention to remove residential and tourism zoning from all flood plains along the coast.”

The OPW has been contacted for comment.