Site Located near River

Hi,

I'm interested in a site for sale, but I'm worried about the fact that there is a small river nearby (for Insurance/Flooding reasons.).


Up the Road, the river is about 30 metres from the road itself (Close).
The site in question is like 2 fields away from the river, so it's quiet a good distance away.


The road (small one) has flooded only once/twice in the last 5 yrs, that I know of, and it flooded further on up the road where the river is close to the road.
The site is level with the road.


Am I being over concerned ?
Is there anywhere I can find out whether it is a threat ?

> Am I being over concerned ?

No. Buying in an area liable to flooding can be disaster. In some areas it may not be possible to obtain flood insurance protection or it will cost an arm and a leg.

> Is there anywhere I can find out whether it is a threat ?

Have you tried asking the neighbours/locals, council, local newspapers etc.? You might also want to get a suitably qualified surveyor to look at the site/area in order to assess the flood risks.

You can create an island by filling up rubble/rock and than build your house/garden on it.But you can't do that with a public road of course.Land that is prone to flooding brings also other problems with the building,for example the sewers.If you have the chance than build somewhere else and let nature look after it self,wetlands are becoming a rare sight.But it can be done technically.
Get an ordonance survey map-the older the better-and check the high water marks.Sometimes the map shows little drawings of reed along rivers which could be also a
sign.The first settlers in the US looked out for flotsam in trees and bushes.

Hi Furious,

Sometimes when siting a building near a river the danger is not so much flooding as erosion. This can be a problem in hilly and mountainy areas in the west of irleand where annual rainfall can be up to 1800mm. Rivers in spate can change direction or can erode away at the bank and threaten your property or lands.

Heinbloed,

Get an ordonance survey map-the older the better-and check the high water marks.

Click to expand...

Some old OS maps are notoriously unreliable especially for this purpose. I believe the capain who conducted the Mayo survey was constantly drunk for the entire two years he was on the job! You always should get the newest possible.

There has been a lot of arterial drainage over the last 50 or 60 years (causing untold damage to the environment). This will also alter the hydrological picture dramatically.

Finally, we are experiencing serious flooding in areas where traditionally there was none. This is because more and more areas are becoming urbanised with paved surfaces. These paved surfaces cause the rainfall to runoff much more quickly than before. This is what happened in North West Co Dublin a few years ago. (Dammastown/Clonee)

Ajapale

old maps

Ajapale is right,use an old AND a new map.I was considering the older ones because many small streams have been piped and buried in the past .So they would not show on a map.But the rainfall is still there and when these drains get blocked or overflow the water will try to get back in to the old river bed .

Re: old maps

many small streams have been piped and buried in the past

Click to expand...

Yes Heinbloed, use the old and the new maps. Buried streams can be a problem and you are right old maps are the best way to discover them.

ajapale