NIW refuses to help resort flood victims

NIW refuses to help resort flood victims

NORTHERN Ireland Water has washed its hands of one of the most flood-prone areas of the district.

Regional Development Minister, Danny Kennedy, has said Northern Ireland Water (NIW) is not responsible for the drainage system at Mourneview Road in Newcastle which floods regularly after torrential rain.

He has told Down Council that the contractors who built the estate over 40 years ago did not get official approval for the surface water drainage system and therefore NIW will not carry out any flood alleviation work in the estate.

The news means the residents of the low lying estate must continue to deploy sandbags every time there is heavy rain if they are to stop flood water running into their homes.

It is the second time NIW has refused to carry out work on an ageing estate because original drainage work was not approved. The body has consistently refused to update the sewerage system at Bishopscourt because the RAF did not get official approval for the drainage system when the base was built before World War Two.

The Minister’s decision on Mourneview was relayed to councillors in a letter which was tabled before Down councillors on Monday night. Inexplicably councillors did not discuss the letter or even refer to its contents during their monthly meeting on Monday night.

In the letter Mr. Kennedy, sympathises with affected residents and says the most recent flooding in Newcastle on July 5 was caused by the level and intensity of rainfall exceeding the design capacity of the sewer system.

“The pumping station which serves the area has recently been upgraded in line with the recommendations of the Newcastle Drainage Area Plan and it performed to its maximum design capacity,” the letter reads.

“An added complication in Mourneview Road is the private surface water drainage system, which relies on a number of ‘soakaways’ to dissipate surface water into the ground. The design of this system was not approved by NI Water and it was not adopted when the development was constructed. The system is not, therefore, part of NI Water’s infrastructure. As a result, NI Water is unable to carry out any work to the system (for example increasing its capacity) to help alleviate potential flooding.”

Local councillor Patrick Clarke said the response from NIW was “harsh”, considering the length of time since the houses were built. Believing their construction to date to sometime in the early 1970s, councillor Clarke is currently looking into whether residents can be bound by such legislation.

“Many in the area are now living with the constant fear that the next bout of heavy rain will result in more devastating flooding,” he said. “Simply saying that NIW is unable to carry out any work to this system is letting the residents down.”