'Illegal dumping adds to flooding problems'
PEOPLE who dump rubbish into Northern Ireland's waterways are contributing to the problem of flooding, the Rivers Agency have said.
The warning came after parts of the Province experienced some of the wettest weather in years, with almost a month's rain falling in just 36 hours earlier this week.
Fermanagh once again bore the brunt of the torrents, with a number of roads closed and farms and holiday parks affected.
Philip Mehaffey, operations director with the River's Agency, said the recent downpours should be used as a reminder of the chaos and misery caused by flooding.
"We'd like to remind the public that dumping material in or near a river can easily lead to blockages and subsequent flooding," said Mr Mehaffey.
"Hedge and tree cuttings are major culprits which wash down and block the grilles.
"Larger items of furniture should also be disposed of properly at council waste sites and many councils operate a free collection service for disposing bigger items."
The Rivers Agency described Tuesday's torrent in the Colebrooke River in Fermanagh as a "one-in-10-year flood event".
Caravans had to be moved from a holiday park in Lisnaskea which was swamped by the rising Colebrooke, while a number of cars were damaged by flooded roads across the county.
In August, a flooding taskforce set up by the Stormont executive made a number of recommendations in a bid to avoid future problems in the county.
Meanwhile, work began yesterday on a second site in Tyrone to return thousands of tonnes of illegally deposited waste back to the Republic.
Officials from the NI environment agency and Dublin City Council supervised the removal of an estimated 10,000 tonnes of waste from the site at Trillick.
All waste at the first site at Slattinagh in Fermanagh was removed in a five-week operation which began last month.
Environment minister Edwin Poots welcomed the clean-up operations which he said were "a fine example of good north south cooperation which benefits both jurisdictions".
"This will result in another major source of pollution being removed from our community," the minister added.
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Weather for Belfast
Sunday 27 May 2012
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