The Dublin Urban Rivers LIFE project seeks to improve water quality in County Dublin and promote water quality improvement in urban areas in Ireland and Europe by making it quicker and cheaper to carry out domestic misconnection inspections using a GIS-based approach. Domestic misconnections are caused by incorrectly plumbed washing machines and dishwashers which discharge to the rainwater drainage network which flows to the river rather than the foul sewer network. This causes water pollution and reduces the habitat value of our rivers and streams and reduces our potential to meet the requirements of the Water Framework Directive and the River Basin Management Plan for Ireland 2018-2021.
This project will also build integrated constructed wetlands at five strategic locations in South Dublin County. These natural water retention measures will improve the quality of receiving river water, provide flood alleviation, bioretention of particulates and nutrients, improve habitat conditions and biodiversity, and promote the relationship between green infrastructure and public wellbeing. The project will also develop a decision-support tool for water managers, planners, project developers and policy-makers to use when deciding river water quality improvement options in urban areas.
Through its actions, the project intends to bring about a culture shift in the attitude of stakeholders, local authorities and policy-makers in relation to the importance of misconnections and artificial wetlands to urban water quality improvement.
The project is a collaboration between South Dublin County Council, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and the EU LIFE Programme. The project is estimated at €2.6 million with the EU providing 50% funding and will take four years to complete. South Dublin County Council is the project lead and is currently recruiting staff to the project. You can keep track of the project at the link www.dublinriverlife.ie or talk to the staff in the Water Pollution Section.
