BY COLM BRADLEY

TACKLING the flooding problem in a different way than we traditionally have is the key to fixing the long term threat that flooding poses to the county.

David Porter, regional engineer for the Rivers Agency, told the Herald this week that "we would have to look at fresh ways of tackling the problem".

"In days gone past flood risk management was about building a flood wall to protect properties but that is not enough by itself any more," he explained.

Indeed steps taken by the Rivers Agency at the start of October has meant that while the flooding has caused considerable disruption to the county it has not caused the sort of devastation that has been seen elsewhere in Ireland and the UK.

"At the start of October we drew down the level of the lough but the problem is that you get to a point that you don't have any more flood storage left and we have reached a point where the water is coming in so quickly and in such quantities that it is more than what we have been able to draw off," Mr Porter stated.

The lowering of the lough's level is achieved by draining water from the lough into a hydro power station at Cliff near Ballyshannon.

"If this drainage was not carried out the problems of flooding would be much worse than what we are currently facing," he explained before adding that there will have to be changes in the future if we are to combat flooding, "I think we need to be very careful where we build our essential services. The facts are that a green field will hold the water and drain it more slowly than a concrete or hard structure where the water just runs off into a drain. This second scenario leads to a very fast movement of water which can cause problems."

With recent reports claiming that the temperature of the earth could rise by as much as six degrees over the next couple of decade, many experts are stating that, contrary to reports that we are merely suffering from a freak bout of rain, we are experiencing at first hand the problems which climate change brings about. When asked did he consider 2009 as simply a freak year for rainfall he was careful with his words.

"I would not use the word freak - unusual perhaps," he stated before explaining the Rivers Agency's policy on climate change. "In terms of climate change we take our policy from the UK government who use UK climate groups and other bodies to come to their conclusions. There is an awful lot of information on climate change and I do think we need a better understanding of it but we certainly need to evaluate very carefully all aspects as we look to control flooding in the future."

With regards the current problems that individuals may be facing Mr Porter explained that there is a flood incident help line available on 03002000100. This is available 24 hours a day seven days a week.