COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF RATHFARNHAM / TEMPLEOGUE / FIRHOUSE / BOHERNABREENA AREA COMMITTEE
Tuesday, November 11, 2025
MOTION NO.5
MOTION: Councillor J. Sinnott
This Committee notes the recent heavy rainfall has affected the drainage system in the Rathfarnham / Templeogue / Firhouse / Bohernabreena area. This Committee requests the Council put in place a project plan for addressing blocked drains and that a means of communication for residents to report blockages is put in place.
REPORT:
SDCC are responsible for the management of the stormwater / surface water network and the waterbodies with the County’s River Catchments. A Natural Water Department is now being established. This comprises Natural Water Operations, Water Pollution, Water Capital Projects and Planning, and flood alleviation schemes. The objectives of this department can be summarised under two categories - managing flood risk and managing water quality.
Works will include:
- Ongoing maintenance of the network and assets, with a focus on network cleaning / jetting / desilting to maintain existing network capacity.
- Progression of the minor works programme to address flood risk or upgrade or repair network issues.
- Management of new stormwater connections.
- Providing a response to flood events.
- Ensuring data management, including mapping of assets, and provision of network information to external bodies.
The recommended process for residents to report surface water flooding on roads is by emailing roadmaint@sdublincoco.ie This is a monitored email address and an acknowledgement will be sent out to the resident a road maintenance crew will unblock the road gullies accordingly.
If there is a suspected blockage in the surface water pipework, then Natural Water Section will investigate further using cameras and jetting equipment.
In addition, it should be noted SDCC operates a Street Sweeping Contract through Oxigen Environmental. The contract allows for ongoing scheduled sweeping of approximately 900km of road network and cleaning of over 44,000 gullies. From 1st September up to 31st January the contract allows for additional maintenance for leaf clearance, including additional road sweeping and collection of bagged leaves from residents. In the event of early storms in the autumnal season, this can accelerate the falling of leaves resulting in pressure on available resources. This additional response is carried out in an effort to minimise the risk of flooding from blocked gullies and reduce accidents due to accumulation of leaves.
If elected members are aware of specific locations where surface water flooding is occuring during heavy rainfall can they send these exact locations to naturalwater@sdublincoco.ie for further investigation.