Public consultation day on draft flood maps in newport
Catchment-based Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme is currently producing draft flood maps. The programme is being undertaken by the Office of Public Works (OPW) to meet national policy needs and the requirements of the EU 'Floods' Directive. It involves a comprehensive flood risk assessment focused on 300 areas of potentially significant flood risk, and the development of long-term, sustainable plans to reduce and manage flood risk.
Work on the draft flood maps has involved extensive surveying and analysis of river flows and the development of computer models to determine how flooding occurs. Based on this work, a range of draft flood maps has been produced.
The draft flood maps have now been produced by Jacobs Engineering on behalf of OPW and a Public Consultation Day will be held at Newport Community Centre, Clonbealy between 12 noon and 7pm on Wednesday February 4th.
The flood maps are a vital step towards identifying potential solutions to reduce and manage the flood risk, but they are also important for other reasons:
- the flood maps will inform sustainable planning, to help ensure that we avoid building in flood prone areas into the future
- the maps will inform the emergency response authorities to help ensure an effective response to reduce damage during flood events
- local residents and businesses will be able to determine if they are at risk from flooding, and if so, to be able to prepare for flood events. Practical advice on preparing for flood events is provided on www.flooding.ie.
The public is encouraged to come along on the day, view the draft maps and provide any comments you may have on them. You can make a formal submission on the maps at the public consultation. The CFRAM project teams and OPW will consider all submissions made.