Southside councils launch Dublin Urban Rivers Project

THE Mayor of South Dublin County, Mark Ward, officially launched the Dublin Urban Rivers LIFE project at Rathfarnham Castle Park last week.

This is a joint project between South Dublin County Council and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. 

The river water quality improvement project is estimated to cost €2.54 million over a four-year period, from August 2018 to June 2022, with 50 per cent funding from the EU LIFE Fund Programme. South Dublin County Council will be the lead authority on the project.

The project aims to address the issue of pollution in urban rivers using techniques with proven results relating to domestic misconnection sources and integrated constructed wetland development. 

Two rivers have been identified for water quality improvement – the River Griffeen in South Dublin and the Carrickmines Stream in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown.

As the project develops, significant awareness and engagement campaigns will be initiated for the benefit of residents in these catchment areas.

Speaking at the launch, Cllr Mark Ward said: “I would like to wish the Dublin Urban Rivers LIFE project well and look forward to seeing its implementation and the improvement in river water quality over the next four years.”

The project not only sets about improving the selected rivers but also has an agenda of sharing and applying knowledge and experiences gained to a wider audience in Ireland and Europe. The initiative is also the first if its kind in Ireland and when completed in 2022, both local authorities intend to meet their Water Framework Directive objectives for the selected rivers chosen for the project.