'There are hundreds of acres of land under water'

Water levels at The Cut at Lough Lene are higher than ever before and something needs to be done, according to locals.

The Cut is one of the most popular bathing and fishing sites in the county, and dozens of people go for dips there all year round. However, over the last month, the number of dippers has fallen off as the high water level has cut off access to the wooden pier.

While they acknowledge that the high rainfall over the past six months is the main cause, locals believe that a contributing factor is that the flow of water from the lake into the River Deel, a tributary of the Boyne, has been reduced significantly by a blockage in the culvert under the bridge at The Cut.

Tommy Fagan, chairperson of the Lough Lene Angling Association, has been fishing on the lake for decades. He also owns land next to the lake and says that he has never seen the water level as high before.

"We are 300 hundred feet above see level and we’re flooded. The whole thing needs to be cleared underneath the bridge. Someone said there could be a pallet caught there. You can hear the water going in under the bridge and then it drops off."

Another member of the angling association, who asked not to be named, said that the river should be dredged as it leaves Lough Lene to improve the flow of water from the lake.

"This would help all the overflow water flow down under the bridge and down to Lough Adeel. There is nowhere near the normal level of water going through here at the bridge. [Clearing the blockage from under the bridge] would drop the level of water dramatically."

Mr Fagan says that he has contacted Westmeath County Council in a bid to get them to clear the blockage in the culvert.

"There are hundreds of acres of land under water where it’s not necessary."

When contacted by the Westmeath Examiner, the council issued this statement: “Westmeath County Council are aware of the temporary flooding at a road culvert at The Cut, Lough Lene, resulting from the recent heavy rains. The Mullingar Kinnegad District staff have arranged to carry out remedial works at the location.”