Debris removed, but no plans to dredge Quoile DfI confirms

Debris removed, but no plans to dredge Quoile DfI confirms

22 November 2023

THERE are no plans to dredge the Quoile river in the wake of the recent devastating town centre flood in Downpatrick, the Department for Infrastructure has confirmed.

Up to 50 businesses were impacted by the flood with the cost of repairs, restocking and loss of business, estimated at well in excess of £10m.

In the wake of the flood — which saw a number of businesses swamped with up to six foot of contaminated water— an online petition was launched calling for the river to be dredged.

To date, over 1,300 people have signed the petition, but the government department is refusing to budge on the dredging issue and says it won’t be happening.

However, contractors have removed debris that had gathered at tunnels under the Quoile bridge and the nearby floodgates, but concern remains that tunnels under the Belfast Road bridge are blocked with silt and overgrown foliage.

The situation is so bad that the tunnels are barely visible.

The government department has confirmed that there are currently no plans in place to dredge the Quoile as it offers “limited protection” against flooding.

The online petition was started by Daniel Carling, a local environmental activist and angler, who believes that it is “vital” for the government to act as a matter of urgency “before we are flooded again”.

He believes that the recent disaster “could have been avoided or at least minimised” if the Quoile had been dredged. 

He said: “One of the sole purposes of the river is to ensure the town stays drained from water; it carries water out to the sea, that’s why the river is there.

“When everything is blocked where does the water go? While we can’t 

help the weather, the sheer volume of rain or the fact there was a full moon, I do believe if the river was dredged it certainly would have helped the situation.”

Mr Carling said the amount of sediment on the riverbed drastically reduced the river’s capacity to hold water. 

“For many years, the local anglers have been raising the issue of dredging the Quoile and our concerns over flooding,” he said.

“Well, the inevitable has happened and I feel that Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and Department for Infrastructure are responsible for the task of dredging.”

Mr Carling said when this land was taken from the sea and the barriers built, the Quoile played the key role in stopping floods, but  has now been left untouched and undredged for many years, silting up and choking.

“The landscape has changed drastically, and is no longer able to cope with large volumes of water,” Mr Carling continued.

“Where the flood stopped in the town is naturally where the old tide line used to be.”

Newry, Mourne and Down Council recently called for an urgent inquiry into failures that led to flooding devastation, but the Department for Infrastructure insists that dredging “offers limited protection” against flooding and there are currently no plans in place to dredge the river.

It says the recent unprecedented rainfall throughout the wettest October in over 153 years resulted in many watercourses in the south and east of Northern Ireland  rising to record levels, resulting in widespread flooding across this region.

“The Department understands the concerns in relation to flooding in Downpatrick. However, dredging offers limited protection to mitigate against flooding on the scale experienced recently across the south and east area of Northern Ireland,” it said in a statement.

“Inspections are undertaken at the Quoile River to ensure that the water is free flowing.”

The Department also confirmed that it will be accelerating plans to undertake an assessment of flood risk to Downpatrick to determine the factors that may have contributed to the recent flooding and identify if there are any viable flood risk management interventions which can be made.