1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Dublin (FUA)
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Bioswales for flood protection on Glendhu Park and Park Road
Short description of the intervention
Following an extreme flood event on August 9th 2008 in Glendhu Park, eight houses experienced flooding and many more came within inches of being flooded. Two swales were constructed by Dublin City Council to provide surface water storage to ensure that no flooding will recur in a similar 100-year pluvial event. The swales are designed to self-drain back into the existing surface water sewer system following a severe storm event (Ref. 1).
Address

5 Glendhu Park
Ashtown
Dublin
Ireland

Location
Point location, which indicates where the NBS takes place
Total area
1200.00m²
NBS area
1200.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Public Greenspace Area
Website of the intervention
http://www.dublincity.ie/main-menu-services-water-waste-and-environment-water-p…
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2008
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2010
End date of the intervention
2010
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Goals of the intervention
1. Provide protection against extreme flood events.
2. Storage of stormwater which could be drained to the sewer system later. (Ref. 1; Ref. 2)
Quantitative targets
unknown
Monitoring indicators defined
Level of flooding of the houses: low/deep (Ref. 2).
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Climate change adaptation
Water management (SDG 6)
Flood protection
Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Climate change adaptation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Reduce the impacts of climate risks events on urban places and communities
Build resilience
Climate change adaptation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Implement sustainable urban drainage infrastructure (e.g. to make space for water)
Implementation activities
1. The works involved the excavation of existing soil to the required level, removal off-site of excavated materials, associated pipe works, and final reinstatement/landscaping.
2. Following a flooding event on 24th October 2011, which was of higher magnitude than the event in August 2008, plans were made to extend the swale in Glendhu park to cater for such an event in the future. (Ref. 1; Ref. 2)
Type of NBS project
Creation of semi-natural blue areas
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Green areas for water management
Swales and filter strips
What is the level of innovation / development of the NBS related to water management?
Medium / High: sustainable urban drainage systems which include water storage and diverts water flooding
Vegetation Type
Grass
Amenities offered by the NBS
Unknown
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Provisioning services
Water (surface and ground water for drinking and non-drinking purposes)
Regulating services
Flood regulation
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Scale
Spatial scale
Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Citizens or community groups
Governance
Governance arrangements
Government-led
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
The project was developed by Dublin City Council and discussed with the residents affected by the flood. Following approval, it was implemented by the Council. (Ref. 1; Ref. 3; Ref. 4)
Key actors - initiating organization
Local government/municipality
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Local government/municipality
Citizens or community group
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Dissemination of information and education
Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the national regulations/strategy/plan
National Climate Change Adaption Framework (2012) by adopting a Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for Dublin City, and to support the Dublin City Councils forthcoming Climate Change Strategy for Dublin City. The Plan also sets out the policies in relation to Climate Change and Flooding. (Ref. 3)
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"
1. A Regional Flood Risk Appraisal (RFRA) was carried out for the Regional Planning Guidelines (RPG) for the Greater Dublin Area 2010-2022. 2. Dublin City Development Plan 2016-2022 sets out the achievements and
challenges facing Dublin City Council in relation to Climate Change. (Ref. 3)
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Mandatory (based on policy)
Intervention is mandatory
Environmental regulation
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Please specify the general plan with GI/NBS section
The intervention was mentioned in the Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems part of the Dublin City Development Plan 2016-2022. SuDS were referred to as consisting of mostly nature-based means of urban water management. (Ref. 3)
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Co-finance for NBS
No
Co-financing governance arrangements
No
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
No
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Unknown
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
Public local authority budget
Type of fund(s) used
Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Business models
Risk reduction model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Type of innovation
Technological
Infrastructural innovation
Please specify technological innovation
It is an example of a Sustainable Urban Drainage System which uses alternative, bio-based infrastructural solution to deal with flood risk, instead of a conventional drainage system relying on grey infrastructure (Ref. 1; Ref. 2; Ref. 3).
Novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Climate change
Strengthened capacity to address climate hazards/natural disasters
Water management and blue areas
Increased protection against flooding
Improved stormwater management
Green space and habitat
Increased green space area
Description of environmental benefits
1. The two swales at Glendhu Park and Park Road appear to have operated well for the 60-90 minute thunderstorm event they were designed for. 2. The swales constructed has huge grasslands contributing the green space in the city. (Ref. 2; Ref. 3)
Economic impacts
Reduce financial cost for urban management
Description of economic benefits
1. The NBS helps in reducing flood damage costs. (Ref. 1; Ref. 2)
Social and cultural impacts
Safety
Increased perception of safety
Social justice and cohesion
Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
Education
Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits
Description of social and cultural benefits
1. The project provided safety to citizens from flood risks. 2. The implementation process started with citizen consultations. It included several meetings with the locals and helped in improving their understanding of the benefits of NBS. (Ref. 1)
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
Number and date of flooding events, duration of thunderstorm events, flooding levels (Ref.2).
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Water management (SDG 6)
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
No information available
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
Unknown as of September, 2020.
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
Conduct a baseline survey before and after NBS implementation
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Measurements of biophysical aspects of the NBS (e.g. temperature, water flow)
Observation (including virtual surveillance methods)
Where can this data be accessed? Please include a link to a report or web-page.
https://www.dublincity.ie/sites/default/files/content/WaterWasteEnvironment/Doc…
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
Yes
Link to monitoring/evaluation reports
https://www.dublincity.ie/sites/default/files/content/WaterWasteEnvironment/Doc…
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
unknown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Yes
Mode(s) of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment
Other
Please specify other modes of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment
Letter sent to the residents with information about the proposed measures. Residents of the area where the intervention was planned were consulted about their opinion on the proposed measures. (Ref. 1)
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
Ref. 1. Council web page with information about the NBS
List of references
Ref. 1. Dublin City Council (2017). Pluvial Flooding Works. [online] available at: http://www.dublincity.ie/main-menu-services-water-waste-and-environment-water-projects/pluvial-flooding-works (accessed 10th September, 2020).
Ref. 2. Dublin City Council (2011). Progress Report on Extreme Event Pluvial Flooding 24th October 2011. [pdf] available at: https://www.dublincity.ie/sites/default/files/content/WaterWasteEnvironment/Documents/2011-12-15__report_to_SPC_ACM_FINAL.pdf (accessed 10th September, 2020.
Ref. 3. Dublin City Council (2016). Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) for Dublin City Development Plan 2016-2022. [pdf] available at: http://www.dublincity.ie/sites/default/files/content/Planning/DublinCityDevelopmentPlan/Strategic%20Flood%20Assessment%20(SFRA)%20Vol%207.pdf (accessed 10th September, 2020).
Ref. 4. Dublin City Council (2017). Glendhu Park and Park Road, Ashtown. [pdf] available at: http://www.dublincity.ie/sites/default/files/content/WaterWasteEnvironment/waterprojects/Documents/Glendhu_Map%5B1%5D.pdf (accessed 10th September, 2020).
Interview comments
An e-mail was sent to the contact person asking for more information about the project in the form of documents or web-links. For the purpose, the currently found documents and web-links were listed and he was asked if he could provide any extra sources.
Comments and notes
Pictures of the NBS
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/swale_picture.png