November 02, 2003
After the Mudrush II
The slurry continued down the valley, choking up bridges as well as the life of pretty much anything bigger than pond scum in the water.
This stream is a tributary of the Owendalulleegh River (Abhainn Dá Loilíoch - means river of the milch cow, I think) which flows in Lough Cutra. If the flow of mud continues for a prolonged period of time, the people of Gort will be drinking bottled water for a long time.
The map shows how close the main part of the landslide has come to the Owendalulleegh River. Though the news reports mention the fact that the village is beside a 1000 foot mountain, the landslide started at around 310 -320 metres altitude in Derrybrien north, and has travelled about 2 kilometres to an altitude of around 120 metres (this is just rough guessing from the OS map). As you can, the drainage system of the area leads eventually to Lough Cutra, which provides drinking water for the town of Gort. Next year, it is planned to extend the water supply to the regional areas around Gort, requiring an increase in pumping from 6000 cubic metres to 7500 cubic metres per day.
This image would be normal in a swamp in Louisiana. It's not so encouraging in a hillside stream in south Galway.
Posted by Monasette at November 2, 2003 10:56 AM