IT IS “crucial” that people living along Dublin’s river Dodder engage with their local authorities on a draft plan which aims to prevent flooding, the Minister of State for the Office of Public Works has said.
Brian Hayes was speaking yesterday at the opening of the public consultation process on a draft plan arising from a flood risk assessment study of the Dodder.
The draft plan and accompanying flood maps which identify locations at risk of flooding will be open for public consultation for the next three months.
“Some of solutions can be controversial and can be difficult for the community. So the greater the volume of support from the community via this public consultation, the easier it will be.”
Mr Hayes said there had been occasions in the past where communities rejected proposals that the city council and the Office of Public Works put forward where “clearly not enough consultation went in there to bring the community with them”.
He said there were two very different sides to the Dodder: “One, a beautiful picture of a fantastic public amenity; the other, a very dangerous river at times.”
He noted that the death of Celia Ferrer de Jesus, who died when her basement apartment flooded in Dublin on October 24th last, was as a result of the Dodder breaching its banks.
Mr Hayes said €8.5 million had been spent on flood prevention works in the past three years, particularly in the Lansdowne and Ballsbridge areas, where the land is at its lowest point and where the combination of heavy rainfall and coastal flooding can have devastating consequences.
The Dodder Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management study has been under way since 2005, managed by Dublin City Council on behalf of the Office of Public Works and South Dublin County and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Councils.
Dublin City Council has said the last portion of the tidal flood alleviation measures on the Dodder is under construction. The Office of Public Works is building flood walls and an embankment adjacent to Marian College and, on the other side of the river, in the back gardens of Lansdowne Road between Newbridge and the Luas bridge.
A spokeswoman for Dublin City Council said the draft Dodder study recommended flood defences at low portions of existing flood defences between the Luas railway bridge and Donnybrook bridge which are designed to contain river flows such as those experienced in this area on October 24th last.
DRAFT PLAN KEY POINTS:
The key recommendations in the draft management plan of the study include:
* Flood defences at four locations – Donnybrook, Shanagarry Apartments and the Smurfit site, Tara Hill, and Orwell Gardens and St Enda’s
* Earth embankment flood defences on the lower Dodder
* Improved forecasting, public awareness and flood warnings
* The plan can be viewed at the offices of Dublin City, South Dublin County and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Councils or on their websites; Ringsend Library in Irishtown; Ballsbridge Library; Clondalkin Council Offices; and the Dundrum Area Office.
The deadline for comments from the public is June 6th next.