Seven options outlined for ending Lough Funshinagh flood crisis

Seven potential options for bringing a permanent end to the flooding crisis at Lough Funshinagh in South Roscommon were outlined at a public consultation event held in Athlone's Hodson Bay Hotel recently.

Roscommon County Council is currently seeking the public's views and feedback on the seven options, which include pumping excess water from the overflowing lake into either Lough Ree or the Cross River near Curraghboy.

The public consultation event in the Hodson Bay Hotel was held on January 28 and submissions or observations on the seven options are being accepted via an online portal on the council's website until 5pm on February 28.

The preferred option for the permanent flood solution is expected to be chosen in the late summer, with a planning application then due to be submitted to An Bord Pleanála before the end of this year.

Last month, An Bord Pleanála granted approval for a temporary flooding solution that will see pipes being used to pump excess water from Lough Funshinagh to the Cross River, in the townland of Carrick in South Roscommon.

This measure is expected to be in place by April. However, it has only been granted approval for a maximum of two years, which is why work is now underway to plan a more permanent solution from 2027 onwards.

Flooding from Lough Funshinagh reached record levels last year, with areas such as Ballagh, Rahara and Lysterfield, Curraghboy, particularly badly impacted.

The council said a report from a Lough Funshinagh Technical Subgroup concluded last July that the lake would see "ever-increasing maximum water levels" in the years ahead.

Four of the seven options which the council outlined for permanently dealing with the flooding issue involve pumping systems from Lough Funshinagh to either the Cross River or Lough Ree.

The council outlined the possibility of installing a buried overflow gravity pipe to pump water from the lake, without manual intervention, once the water reached a set level.

The option of using high-capacity electrical or diesel pumps to channel water from Lough Funshinagh, as opposed to gravity pipes, was also outlined.

The council said that if the Cross River option was pursued, the overflow pipe would be "from a location at the southwest corner of Lough Funshinagh at Carrick, initially to the southwest, and then south via Curraghboy village to the Cross River."

"This route is almost entirely through private land and includes a crossing of the R362 regional road at Curraghboy," the council said.

The Lough Ree pumping option, meanwhile, would involve an overflow pipe being constructed "from Lough Funshinagh at Inchiroe/Gortfree to an existing stream at Kiltoom that outfalls to Carnagh Bay on Lough Ree."

This route "would be mainly through private land with some sections under the public road".

An overflow pipe from Lough Funshinagh to Lough Ree is already partially constructed, having commenced in 2021 before being halted by a High Court action taken by the group Friends of the Irish Environment.

Other options outlined for the permanent flooding solution include 'groundwater infiltration', which would see a series of wells being created "to allow the water be diverted directly into the aquafier once it reached a defined level".

A 'watercourse diversion' which would create an artificial channel on the west side of Lough Funshinagh to direct some of the runoff to the Cross River was also listed, as was a system of "impermeable embankments" at certain locations in order to prevent flooding of private properties and public roads near the Lough.