CORK COUNTY Council yesterday resumed dredging the river Bandon in an attempt to reduce the risk of flooding in the town of Bandon this winter after council officials reached an agreement with Inland Fisheries Ireland that the work would not extend beyond tomorrow.
The agreement between the council and the fisheries body was reached yesterday afternoon following a stand-off in the morning when a private dredging contractor hired by the council was advised by fisheries officials he would be personally liable to prosecution if he continued dredging.
The stand-off was over concerns about damage to salmon-spawning beds.
The council began dredging yesterday morning to excavate some 100m downstream and 50m upstream of the bridge in Bandon to a depth of 300mm in order to facilitate a faster flow of water under the bridge in the event of heavy flooding.
County manager Martin Riordan confirmed the council reached the agreement to carry out “precautionary interim flood relief works” after presenting the fisheries officials with an interim plan detailing what it proposed to remove from the river.
Mr Riordan expressed confidence the work to remove 150m of gravel to a depth of 300mm would be completed by tomorrow evening under a strict inspection regime supervised by a council engineer.
He said the council was conscious of the importance of a gravel bed for salmon to deposit their eggs, in line with fisheries legislation, and would respect the requirement that the work be completed by Friday.
Ciaran Byrne, chief executive of Inland Fisheries Ireland, welcomed yesterday’s agreement but said it was “unfortunate” the fisheries authority was not provided with a plan before dredging began.
“It is imperative that any works allowed in rivers conform to the legislative requirements and that all works are planned and executed to achieve the required results,” said Dr Byrne
Gravel removal from salmon-spawning beds was not permitted under fisheries legislation, he added.
Dr Byrne said the fisheries authority was aware of the issues in Bandon and had made every effort to facilitate the council proposals to reduce the risk of flooding in the town.
Last November, the town was submerged under five feet of water when the river burst its banks.