Fianna Fail Deputy Eugene Murphy has called for the gates at Parteen and Melick on the River Shannon system to be opened in a bid to alleviate the threat of summer flooding as water levels in the Clonown and Athlone area have risen significantly in recent weeks.
Deputy Murphy who is the Fianna Fail Junior spokesperson on the OPW and flood relief in the west has called on the Minister of State for Flood Relief Sean Canney to instruct the ESB to open the Shannon gates at Parteen and to also open a number of gates in Melick.
“I understand that there are nine gates still closed in the Melick area at this time of year and if a number of those gates were opened along with the gates at Parteen it would go some way towards helping to alleviate the threat of any summer flooding. The water levels in the Clonown and Athlone area has risen by nine or ten inches in recent weeks and the people of Clonown cannot face the misery of flooding once again as they have been under siege in relation to flood waters in recent times and they are extremely anxious that unless some action is taken immediately they may be facing into the threat of summer flooding,” concluded Eugene Murphy.