Concerns have been raised after "dangerous flooding" in South Belfast at a site where flood alleviation works were carried out.
The path along the River Lagan in Stranmillis flooded over the weekend as a result of heavy rain, with local residents saying that waters reached a height of 4ft in a section under the Governor's Bridge.
Last year, the Department for Infrastructure had removed a number of trees from the area while it carried out works on a flood alleviation scheme along the river.
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The removal of the trees caused concern to locals, who felt that it would cause flooding in the area as the trees were no longer there to absorb the water.
Colin Shaw, from conservation group Save Our Lagan, said that the DfI had "questions to answer" following the flooding, saying he believed that the runoff from the new path and wall has contributed to the issue, along with the removal of the trees in the area.
He said: "This part of the path has flooded before in previous years, but never to the levels that we have seen over the weekend, with the water level reaching 4ft in some sections.
"We believe that the runoff from the new path and wall has significantly contributed to this flooding, and it shows just how much water has been soaked up from the trees that have been removed.
"Part of a £17million flood alleviation scheme has been carried out in the area, so how could the possibility of this happening have been missed?
"The Department for Infrastructure has questions to answer about how this has managed to take place given the work that has been carried out."
South Belfast Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw said that the flooding over the weekend is "shocking" and comes after warnings from residents and elected representatives about the impact of the removal of the trees from the area.
She said: “It has been truly shocking to see the extent to which the underpass has flooded and remained so. Residents and elected representatives alike warned that the removal of the trees would actually have a detrimental effect on absorption of water and could lead to such localised flooding.
"Unfortunately, the warnings came to pass. I have contacted the project team for information as to how the flooding is to be resolved, but with the weekend and Bank Holiday I have yet to receive a response.”
The Department for Infrastructure said that heavy rainfall and high water levels in the River Lagan caused some flooding on the towpath.
It has said arrangements are being made to remove water from the path at Governor's Bridge using a pump before a further assessment of the cause of the flooding.
A spokesperson said: “Recent heavy rainfall combined with high water levels in the River Lagan has caused some flooding on parts of the Lagan Towpath. Leaves and branches were removed to clear a blockage 1200m upstream from Governor’s Bridge on Sunday.
"Arrangements are being made to remove the flood water on the towpath at Governor’s Bridge using a pump and this will allow for a further assessment of the cause of the flooding.”
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