Water and Drainage
Drainage Section
Water Pollution
Public Health
Water Framework Directive
General Information
Maintenance of the public sewer network in the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council area is carried out from our Depot, located at Ballyogan Road. Depot contact details are as follows:-
| Depot | Phone Number |
|---|---|
| Balloygan Depot | 01-2904800 |
Whilst the Council's Drainage Section is responsible for the maintenance of the public sewer network, private householders are responsible for the maintenance of private drains – for more information please see note on Maintenance of Private Drains. (opens in new window)
All drainage works carried out within the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council area must comply with the Greater Dublin Regional Code of Practice for Drainage Works.
Greater Dublin Regional Code of Practice for Drainage Works (pdf -6,491kb) (PDF File - 6.33 MB. Opens in New Window)
The Drainage Section is responsible for the operation and maintenance of both the foul and surface water sewer networks within the county. The foul sewer network discharges to Sewage Treatment works at the following locations for treatment:-
- Shanganagh
- Ringsend (operated by Dublin City Council)
The drainage of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and Dublin City is interconnected and is served by the following drainage systems.
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Shanganagh Treatment Works Waste Water Discharge Licence D0038-1
All documentation (including influent and effluent sample analysis) in relation to the Shanganagh Treatment Works Discharge Licence can be viewed from Monday to Friday 9.00 am to 1.00 pm and 2.15 pm to 5.00 pm at County Hall, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin. Please contact Mr. Paul Buggy on 01-2054763 to make an appointment to view these documents.
Electronic versions of the Licence, Licence Application and Annual Environmental Report are available to view online on the EPA website. Please click on the following link.
http://www.epa.ie/terminalfour/wwda/wwda-view.jsp?regno=D0038-01
Dún Laoghaire Drainage Scheme
This scheme drains areas including Blackrock, Monkstown, Stillorgan, Dún Laoghaire, Glasthule, Dalkey and Sallynoggin and discharges to the West Pier Pumping Station by gravity or pumped drainage systems. Flows arriving at the West Pier are then pumped across Dublin Bay for treatment at Dublin City Councils treatment plant at Ringsend.
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Shanganagh Drainage Scheme
This includes main sewers through Deansgrange, Carrickmines Valley, Shankill and Killiney which discharge to the DLRCC sewage disposal works at Shanganagh.
Dodder Valley Drainage Scheme
This scheme serves the Tallaght area in South Dublin but also drains the areas of Dundrum, Ballinteer, Rathfarnham and Clonskeagh and is discharged to the treatment works at Ringsend.
Stillorgan Main Drainage
This scheme drains the areas of Stillorgan, Booterstown and surrounding areas and discharges to the Treatment works at Ringsend via Drainage systems in the Dublin City area..
Water Pollution
The DLRCC Water Pollution Section is located at our Balloygan Depot and can be contacted on 01-2904800.
The protection of the environment is a major priority of the Council and every effort is made to ensure that rivers, lakes and tidal streams are kept pollution free.
Persons discharging trade or sewage effluent to rivers, lakes, streams, tidal waters, etc., must do so under licence from the Council. A licence is also necessary for discharges (other than domestic or storm water) to sewers.
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Trade Effluent Application Form (pdf -36kb)
pdf 105kb
The Council has an ongoing sampling and monitoring programme in place for these licenses. Water Pollution matters, generally, are administered by the Water Pollution Inspector.
Misconnections
The Council carries out inspections of domestic drainage systems to ensure that waste water systems have not been misconnected to surface water drainage systems. Where drainage systems are found to be misconnected, the owners of the properties involved are required under the Water Pollution Act to remedy the misconnection. Particular attention should be paid by householders, when constructing house extensions, that all new appliances such as sinks, dishwashers, washing machines etc are connected to the foul water drainage system.
Fats, Oils & Greases (FOG)
Inspections are also carried out of premises where food preparation takes place ie hotels, restaurants, bars etc as this process generates large quantities of oils grease and fats. All such food premises are required to have grease management systems in place. Problems are also experienced with the discharge of Fats, Oils & Grease from private households.
View further information on Fats, Oils & Grease.
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Public Health
Incidents of possible public health nuisances arising from either defective drainage systems or accumulations of offensive materials are investigated by the Environmental Health Officers at Tel: (01) 2802566 on the Council's behalf. Notices are served on offenders. If the nuisance is not abated, the matter is referred to the courts.
Water Framework Directive
The WFD was adopted into Irish Law in Dec 2003 and provides a comprehensive framework for water quality management across the EU. It requires that we take a holistic view of water and how it sustains life – it is concerned with the protection of all our waters including rivers, lakes, coastal water and groundwater.
The directive requires that all member states adopt a comprehensive integrated basin-based approach to water management. For this purpose, Ireland has been divided into 8 River Basin Districts – all waters within the DLRCC administrative area are located within the Eastern River Basin District (ERBD). Dublin City Council is the co-ordinating authority for the ERBD River Basin Management Plan – DLRCC are currently providing information to the project team with regard to water resources within the county to facilitate the preparation of a Characterisation report for the water bodies within the river basin.
The key objective of the directive is to:-
- Maintain “high status of waters where it exists”
- Prevent any deterioration in the existing status of waters
- Achieve at least “good status” in relation to all waters by 2015.
The directive requires that all member states adopt a comprehensive integrated basin-based approach to water management. By basin-based it means viewing water bodies as they are rather than as they fall into distinct administrative areas. Waters within the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown administrative area fall within the Eastern River Basin District along with 12 other counties. Dublin City Council is the co-ordinating authority for the project and work has commenced in 2003 on the preparation of the Characterisation report of waters within the ERBD area.
Further information may be found at www.erbd.ie
