At last night’s full City Council meeting the City Manager, Joe Gavin, issued the following report to Councillors:
“A Ard-Mheara agus Comhairleoiri,
Re: Flooding Crisis – Morning of Friday, 20th November, 2009.
Massive volumes of flood water came down the River Lee on the night of Thursday, 19th November and on the 20th November. Unprecedented levels of flooding and property damage occurred in western parts of the city. The Waterworks on the Lee Road were completely submerged and 18,000 households, mostly in the northside of the city, were without a piped water supply. There was no loss of life and nobody was injured. The following is an account of the actions taken by Cork City Council with the support of others in coping with the crisis presented.
Thursday, 19th November, 2009.
11.30 a.m. Inniscarra Dam contacts Council and advises that the discharge level would be 150 cubic metres per second increasing to 200 cubic metres per second over the next few hours with the possibility that it would reach 250 to 300 cubic metres per second later in the day.
The information received was assessed by the Council taking into account the weather forecast and the High Tide due at 18.50. The combination of these factors indicated that some flooding was to be expected at Carrigrohane Road and the Western Suburbs.
12 midday – The City Council contacted the Kingsley Hotel, the County Hall, Atkins, Topaz Filling Station, Coca Cola and other businesses along the Carrigrohane Road and advised them of the possibility of flooding. The Traffic Section was mobilised to deal with road closures.
14.30 City Council issued by email a flood warning to all relevant internal staff and to the standard external list which includes local broadcast and press media and centre city businesses. At this stage floods were not expected east of the weir.
15.00 Inniscarra Dam informed Council that discharge levels had risen to 225 cubic metres per second, were expected to reach 250 cubic metres per second by 17.00 hours and could reach 275 cubic metres per second by 19.00 hours.
17.00 Inniscarra Dam informed Council that the discharge level would now reach 300 cubic metres per second.
17.30 Inniscarra Dam informs Council that discharge levels would be greater than previously anticipated i.e., greater than 300 cubic metres per second.
18.50 The Council checked the water level gauge at Lapp’s Quay to assess the tide level. The reading was 1.98 which indicated significant capacity in the channel to accommodate the flow without causing flooding.
19.00 – 20.30 City Council checked Grenville Place near Mercy Hospital to assess tidal flow. Mardyke checked, County Hall checked. There was no water around the Kingsley Hotel and the Filling Station was not flooded.
20.40 High Tide had passed without incident. There was some flooding at Sundays Well and at Carrigrohane Road. Council had closed roads where necessary and had erected appropriate signs.
21.00 Council again checked Grenville Place and observed that the water level was reduced at that point reflecting the passing of the High Tide.
22.10 Council contacted Inniscarra Dam as Waterworks staff were concerned about rising water levels near the plant. The Dam advised that discharge levels would now go to 450 cubic metres per second.
23.00 Carrigrohane Road under heavy flood. City Council mobilised Army to gain access to Halting Site at Carrigrohane Road.
23.28 City Council mobilised Civil Defence.
12.00 midnight – Shut down of the Lee Waterworks is commenced in order to protect pumps and avoid contamination of the public water supply, as the pumping station was being flooded.
Friday, 20th November
2.10 Council checked water levels at Mercy Hospital – no immediate threat. Army assist access to Lee Waterworks for electrician.
3.00 Council initiated Drinking Water Incident Response Plan.
3.56 Council informed that Quay Wall at Grenville Place had collapsed and that power lines were down.
4.07 Council and Army at Grenville Place. The generator and other ground level equipment at the Mercy Hospital were protected and guarded by the Army overnight.
4.00 – 6.30 Gardai, Army, Council Building Control Staff, Council Housing Staff, Fire Brigade, Civil Defence, Water Engineers and Roads Staff on the streets.
7.00 Council commenced arrangements for the provision of emergency water supplies by way of tankers.
7.00 City Manager called the first Crisis Management Team Meeting for 11.00 a.m. on 20th November in City Hall. This was attended by the City Council’s Management Team, the Fire Service, the Civil Defence, the Army, the Navy and the HSE and others. The situation on the ground was assessed, resources from other agencies were mobilised, vulnerable people and institutions were prioritised and appropriate arrangements were put in place. City Council staff were also rostered to work at the weekend.
7.10 Council advise local media and RTE of water supply disruption.
16.00 Second meeting of Crisis Management Team held. E.S.B. personnel confirm that they had found it necessary to increase water discharge levels at the Inniscarra Dam to 535 cubic metres per second during the night of the 19th November. They also stated that the inflow had reached 800 cubic metres per second.
It was decided to evacuate residents from Grenville Place. It was noted that emergency accommodation had been arranged and that the distribution of drinking water to vulnerable households had begun. Identified Tivoli Watermain as a possibility to establish water supply to Central Island and South Channel Decided to close footbridge at Grenville Place.
20.00 City Council commences the delivery of 2000 tons of rock to the breached quay wall at Grenville Place working through the night and completing the task by 7.00 on the 21st November.
22.00 The Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government, John Gormley, came to Cork and was briefed on the flooding situation by the City and County Managers.
Saturday, 21st November
City Council had successfully maintained water supply to the Central Island by bringing into use the defunct water main from Tivoli.
11.00 Third meeting of Crisis Management Team is held and is addressed by Minister Gormley, Minister Martin and the Lord Mayor.
12.30 Council hold press conference.
16.00 City Manager briefs Council at special meeting of City Council.
Breach in Quay Wall at Sunday’s Well repaired temporarily overnight – 800 tons of rock.
Emergency Water Supplies
Within 24 hours the Council had secured water supplies for the Central Island and the South Channel by bringing into use a defunct watermain at Tivoli.
By Saturday, 21st November, the Council with the aid of the Gardai, the Army and the Civil Defence were distributing water door-to-door to vulnerable households. In total, an estimated 300,000 litres of bottled water were distributed.
By Saturday, 21st November the Council had established water stations where people could collect drinking water from tankers. A total of 15 stations were established. It is estimated that 6 million litres of drinking water were supplied through tankers and stand pipes.
By Monday, 23rd November the City Council had 40 water stations in place where water for sanitation purposes was available.
The Council staff, Civil Defence and Navy personnel worked on de-watering the Lee Road Treatment Plant which was largely completed by Sunday evening, the 23rd November when the removal of the pumps for repair commenced.
Piped water supplies were restored to most of the 18,000 households by Sunday, 29th November.
The Council arranged with 8 hotels for the provision of their facilities to accommodate people in need of showers. The hotels made their facilities available free of charge.
Pepsi and Pfizer Companies gave the Council, free of charge, thousands of plastic containers which the Council made available to residents for water collection.
Water was delivered to hospitals on the northside and to other institutions with the help of the Navy, the Gardai and the Army.
General
The Council evacuated 100 people from flooded areas and provided them with temporary accommodation.
The Council provided a service to householders in the removal of furniture and other bulky items destroyed by the flooding. A total of 80 tons were collected. A total of 300 houses availed of this service.
The Council adapted water tankers to have them available to the Fire Brigade as back up in the event of fire incidents in the northside where there was no piped water supply. They were brought into use on the night of Wednesday, 25th November where there was a fire in a factory at Hollyhill Industrial Estate.
The Council delivered tankers of water to schools on the weekend of 28th November to ensure their re-opening on the 30th.
The Council arranged for the carrying out of a preliminary examination of all bridges and quay walls immediately after the floods.
The Council carried out urgent repairs to quay wall breaches at Grenville Place and Sundays Well Road – 2800 tons of rock were used.
Between Friday, 19th November and Thursday, 3rd December the City Manager chaired 10 meetings of the Crisis Management Team. The emergency was stood down on Thursday, 3rd December.
Communications
Dedicated telephone lines were made available and manned from 19th November, 2009 to 3rd December, 2009 from 8.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. daily, including weekends. The Fire Service took any calls from 10.00 p.m. to 8.00 a.m. From Thursday, November 19th to Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 the City Council issued a total of 42 press releases and 42 website updates to over 70 recipients across 30 separate local, regional and national media outlets. Visitors to the website during this period totalled 108,408 and 342,991 pages were viewed. 6 advertisements were placed in the local press media on November 21st, 23rd and 28th last. Interviews were given on an ongoing basis throughout the crisis and a press conference was held on Saturday, November 21st.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank all who helped in dealing with the difficulties which the flooding crisis created. In particular:-
a) The City Council staff in all sections from Senior Management and Engineers who planned, managed and co-ordinated the response, to our Fire Brigade and Civil Defence personnel for their stalwart work, to our staff who manned the water stations in such a helpful and courteous way and to all back-up administrative staff. Over 320 Council employees worked full-time on the emergency.
b) The Defence Forces (both Army and Naval Service) who provided invaluable direct support.
c) An Garda Siochana who readily responded to every request for assistance and support.
d) The active co-operation of Cork County Council in augmenting water supplies to the city during the emergency.
e) The HSE for their advice and assistance and whose own emergency response helped ensure that the Civic Emergency was dealt with efficiently.
f) A multitude of voluntary and charity organisations as well as individual citizens across the city who readily and willingly responded to the needs of their communities and particularly those vulnerable citizens who needed individual support in the difficult circumstances in which they found themselves.
g) A broad range of businesses both from Cork and beyond who made much needed resources available to the emergency effort in terms of goods and services and in particular Pepsi and Pfizer.
h) The Lord Mayor and members of Council who provided invaluable support to the community through the period.
i) Clare County Council for supplying a fire tender, Dublin City Council, Kilkenny County Councils and other Local Authorities for their offer of help.
j) The Electricity Supply Board for their co-operation and for their offer to supply flat-bottomed trucks to help with water distribution.
The community spirit and common effort demonstrated by all the people in a time of extreme hardship was central to the response.
The City Council greatly appreciates the visits and offers of personal support from An Taoiseach, Brian Cowan, T.D. and Ministers Gormley and Martin.
The City Council also acknowledges the huge number of messages and expressions of support that were received, including messages from Her Excellency President Mary McAleese, Bishop Buckley, Bishop Colton, many private individuals and from Irish communities abroad.
Cork City Council acknowledges the important role played by local and national media in the regular and timely manner in which they kept the public informed through the emergency.
Recommendations
1. The Department of Environment, Heritage & Local Government should give approval and provide funding to enable the proposed upgrading of the Lee Road Waterworks to proceed. Part of the upgrading will involve constructing the plant room at a higher level to guard against flooding. The cost estimate is in the region of €18m.
2. The water supply in the city is sourced from two separate plants which have their own distribution networks. There is no interlinking so that if there is failure at one plant the second plant cannot provide cover for the areas affected and one half of the city suffers.
The City Council should give a higher priority to the proposal to link the two systems by bringing a mains pipe from the Wilton Road Roundabout to the Lee Road Waterworks Plant. (This would not have made any difference to the recent flooding crisis as the pumps were submerged. It would, however, give better security in other emergencies and the upgrading of the Lee Road Plant would reduce the flooding risk). The Department of Environment, Heritage & Local Government should give approval to proceed with this scheme.
The cost estimate is in the region of €3m.
3. Efforts should be made to complete as soon as possible the Lee Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management Study (Lee CFRAMS) which is being undertaken by the Office of Public Works.
4. The City Council should undertake a full examination of the city’s bridges and quay walls to establish their condition.
5. The Department of Environment, Heritage & Local Government should provide funding to enable the breaches in the quay walls at Grenville Place and Sundays Well Road to be rebuilt. Cost estimate in the region of €2m. The Department has already put in place arrangements to recoup the Council the additional costs incurred in coping with the flooding crisis.
I understand that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government, John Gormley, T.D. indicated in the Dáil on the 24th November that a review of the flooding crisis will be carried out.”
