Strategic Flood Risk Assessment Report

Strategic Flood Risk Assessment for the Draft Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028

Stage 1 SFRA - Flood Risk Identification

2.1 Introduction Stage 1 SFRA (flood risk identification) was undertaken in order to identify whether there may be any flooding or surface water management issues within or adjacent to zoned lands and consequently whether Stage 2 SFRA (flood risk assessment) should be proceeded to. Cork City is subject to the Flood Risk Management Plan for the Lee, Cork Harbour and Youghal Bay River Basin (UOM19). Stage 1 SFRA is based on existing information on flood risk indicators based on historical evidence and computational models. Appendix II (pages 3-7) show the spatial distribution of City-wide historical and predictive flood risk indicators. Appendix II also provides larger scale maps of these historical and predictive indicators for areas within the City. 2.2 Drainage, Defences and Early Warning Systems With regard to areas benefitting from drainage and defences (flood relief scheme works), there are various measures that have been implemented in Cork City that will contribute towards flood risk management. These include the culverting of various streams and rivers in many urban areas. Embankments and associated predicted benefitting lands under a number of historical government schemes are mapped in Appendix II . The Flood Risk Management Plan for the Lee, Cork Harbour and Youghal Bay River Basin identifies various general measures under “Measures Applicable for all Areas”, including under the headings of:  Sustainable Planning and Development Management  Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS)  Adaptation Planning  Land Use Management and Natural Flood Risk Management  Maintenance of Channels not part of a Scheme  Flood Forecasting and Warning  Emergency Response Planning  Promotion of Individual and Community Resilience  Individual Property Protection  Flood-Related Data Collection  Voluntary Home Relocation With regard to Cork City (the City Centre), the Flood Risk Management Plan identifies two key measures as follow:  Progress a Flood Relief Scheme for Lower Lee, Cork City (Status: Stage II: Planning Process) The proposed Lower Lee (Cork City) Flood Relief Scheme was initiated in 2013 following major flooding in 2009 and 2012 and includes flood defences along the River Lee downstream of Inniscarra dam and through Cork city, changes to the operating procedures for the Carrigadrohid and Inniscarra reservoirs for the purposes of flood risk management and a flood forecasting system to help guide decision-making on dam discharges and, if necessary, the erection of temporary / demountable defences downstream and in Cork City. The Scheme is expected to provide protection against the 100-year fluvial flood (1.0% Annual Exceedance Probability) from the River Lee, and against the 200-year tide (0.5% Annual Exceedance Probability) for about 2,100 properties.  Progress a Flood Relief Scheme for the Bride River, Blackpool (Status: Stage II: Public Exhibition / Confirmation) The proposed Bride River (Blackpool) Flood Relief Scheme was initiated in 2013 following major flooding in 2012 and includes conveyance improvement, flood defence embankments and walls, and pumping stations. The scheme is expected to provide protection against the 100-Year flood (1% Annual Exceedance Probability) for about 285 properties from the Bride River.

CAAS for Cork City Council