1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Dublin (FUA)
Region
Europe
Short description of the intervention
Excess rainwater in sewers causes flooding and the overflow spills into the rivers. Rainwater spilling across pavements can also make for an unpleasant walking experience in the city. Dublin City Council, in collaboration with residents, ran a trial use of Rain Box Planters as a way of both greening the streets and better managing rainwater coming from roofs. The Rain Box Planters were placed below houses’ gutters in order to slow the torrent of water entering the drain. The first trials were successful and the next stage is to test them on a larger scale. (ref 2, 3)
Address

Dublin City
Dublin
Ireland

Location
The NBS is a city-wide initiative, the GIS point marks the centre of the city
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Central Business District / City Centre
Building
Website of the intervention
http://dccbeta.ie/index.php/project/article/rain-box-planters
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
unknown
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2014
End date of the intervention
2015
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Goals of the intervention
1. Improve the visual aspect of the streets by adding plants.
2. Increase green spaces within the city.
3. Reduce flooding due to the overloading of sewers during heavy rainfall events.
4. Reduce the damages from heavy rain on the city infrastructure.
5. Make the residents satisfied with the instalment. (ref 2, 3).
Quantitative targets
Unknown
Monitoring indicators defined
Unknown
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Water management (SDG 6)
Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Regulation of built environment
Please specify "other Type of NBS project"
Urban water management (Rain box Planters installation)
Implementation activities
A trial study was carried out to get a better idea of the issues involved in implementing the Rain Box Planters on a larger scale – the costs involved, the cost savings achievable, public engagement and reaction, and the technical and maintenance issues that may arise. The Box Planters were designed with an overflow pipe connected to the sewer to ensure that they do not overflow from the top. The boxes' design allows for the rainfall to be held back from entering the sewer system and instead either evaporate or become soaked up by specially selected plants. During the winter months, when evaporation levels will be low, the rain boxes will still have the effect of slowing the flow rates to the sewer, reducing flooding and sewer overflows downstream during extreme rainfall events. The rainfall down-pipes are cut at about 400mm - 600mm above ground in order to install the Box Planters. (ref 1, 2)
Type of NBS project
Other
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Grey infrastructure featuring greens
Alley or street trees and other street vegetation
Green areas for water management
Other
Please specify "other green areas for water management"
Rain Box Planters
What is the level of innovation / development of the NBS related to water management?
Low: Simple rain water collection intervention (rain garden, local seepage pit) or simple permeable areas
Vegetation Type
Grass
Flower beds
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
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
Scale
Spatial scale
Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Local government/Municipality
Citizens or community groups
Governance
Governance arrangements
Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Non-government actors
Private sector/Corporate/Business
Citizens or community groups
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
Design and installation of the Box Planters were done by Max Kemper of Maximize Design. The intervention was initiated by Dublin City Council and tested by the Council and local residents who took part in the study trial. (ref 1, 2)
Key actors - initiating organization
Local government/municipality
Land owners
No information found
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Local government/municipality
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Citizens or community group
Land owners
Other
Please specify other land owner
Houses of the local residents
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Dissemination of information and education
Citizen science
Citizen monitoring and review
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
No
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
No
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"
Dublin City Council has policies in place (Regional Drainage Policies - Volume 2: New Development) for new developments to reduce the amount of rainwater entering sewers. In that context, they also acknowledged the need to look at existing buildings to see where they could make improvements. That gave rise to the Rain Box Planters project idea. (ref 1, 4)
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Please specify other type of voluntary intervention
Voluntary rainwater runoff management solution. (ref 1)
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
Yes
Please specify the general plan with GI/NBS section
Dublin City Council has policies in place (Regional Drainage Policies - Volume 2: New Development) for new developments to reduce the amount of rainwater entering sewers. In that context, they also acknowledged the need to look at existing buildings to see where they could make improvements. That gave rise to the Rain Box Planters project idea. The Regional Drainage Policies contain a section about SuDS and how they utilize nature-based solutions. (ref 1, 4)
If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.
Municipal / city level environmental plan or programme
Urban redevelopment plan
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
Yes
Please specify
A trial study was carried out to test the effectiveness of the Rain Box Planters as a rainwater management solution. 11 households took part in the study, whereby of 6 Rain Box Planters were installed on two locations in Dublin City. The trial took place over a duration of 18 and 24 months in the two different locations, respectively. The aim of the study was to get a better idea of the issues involved in implementing these surface-water management solutions on a larger scale – the costs involved, the cost savings achievable, public engagement and reaction, and the technical and maintenance issues that may arise. (ref 1, 2)
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
Less than €10,000
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)
This trial cost Dublin City Council €1,350. (ref 1)
Source(s) of funding
Public local authority budget
Type of fund(s) used
Earmarked public budget
Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Yes
Type of non-financial contribution
Provision of land
Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Business models
Risk reduction model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Citizens / local communities
Type of innovation
Technological
Product innovation
Please specify technological innovation
The intervention can best be described as a technological product innovation, because the Rain Box Planters represent a novel, nature-based technological solution to managing rainwater runoff. The Box Planters do not only act as a new flood protection mechanism in Dublin, but also improve the aesthetical appearance of the streets. (Ref. 1; Ref. 2)
Novelty level of the innovation
Ambiguous (e.g. multiple interpretations)
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
It is mentioned that the Rain Box Planters are a surface-water management method that has been used in a number of countries already. However, there is no mention of the degree of similarity between the Box Planters in Dublin and those in other countries (Ref. 2)
Replicability/Transferability
Ambiguous (e.g. multiple interpretations)
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
It is mentioned that it may be possible to link the Box Planters project to existing Dublin City Council initiatives in the area of community and planting. The organizers say it is very likely that the Box Planters would link well with other water-saving endeavours such as water butts, however there are no further details provided. (Ref. 2)
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
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. With visual observation, the rain box planters have been seen to reduce the stormwater reaching the drainage system. This helped in reducing flooding incidents. 2. In addition to this, the planter boxes have increased green spaces within the city. (ref 2)
Economic impacts
Reduce financial cost for urban management
Description of economic benefits
1. The saving from flood management is €38/annum on flood damage, conveyance and treatment. This takes into account costs to householders due to flooding and the cost of conveying and treating the surface-water. It does not take into account the cost of the gully-cleaning or maintenance crews during flood events, the cost of maintaining the storm-water management solution, or savings on the cost of potential fines for breaches of the Water Framework Directive. (ref 4)
Social and cultural impacts
Safety
Increased perception of safety
Social justice and cohesion
Increased opportunities for social interaction
Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
Education
Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits
Description of social and cultural benefits
1. The residents were happy with the final result of the project. It has increased their perception of safety from flood damages. 2. After the instalment, the residents were responsible for the maintenance. This allowed the locals to get involved with the project and increase their understanding of NBS and their benefits. 3. The planter boxes were shared among the neighbours, helped in increasing social interaction. (ref 2)
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
Footpath widths in the two trial locations; the amount of rainwater reaching the main drain (ref 1).


Environmental, social and economic impacts
Water management (SDG 6)
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
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
The project was a trial run and was completed before the pandemic has started. Hence, not affected by it.
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
Interviews
Observation (including virtual surveillance methods)
Where can this data be accessed? Please include a link to a report or web-page.
https://dubcitybeta.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/beta-project-report-card-public…
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://dubcitybeta.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/beta-project-report-card-public…
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
- "The degree of actual rainwater attenuation would need to be accurately measured using flow monitors in order to both assess the full impact of the solution, and also to better enable the City Council to place a monetary
value on the potential solution (which would have implications for roll-out scale and speed)."
- Residents who took part in the trial study said that they could hear tapping noise caused by water flowing from their downpipe. In response to that, the Council concluded that "It would be useful to deploy noise sensors before/after any future installation to get some actual quantitative measurements rather than purely qualitative"
(ref 1)
Link to the output of assessments
http://dccbeta.ie/index.php/project/article/rain-box-planters
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
Submission of monitoring data (citizen observation)
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Yes
Please specify
Conclusions were drawn based on the results from the study trial. The decision was to "persevere". The next steps planned are to create a further iteration of the study project at a larger scale. This will enable the organizers to accurately measure the rate at which the Box Planters slow rainwater entering the drains, which in turn may also enable placing a monetary value on the solution. (ref 3).
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
Ref. 3. Web page of the intervention
List of references
1. Dublin City Council (2014). Dublin City Council Beta Projects Report Card: Rain Box Planters. [pdf] available at: https://dubcitybeta.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/beta-project-report-card-public-full-rain-boxes.pdf
(Accessed 3rd September 2020).
2. Dublin City Council Beta Projects (2014). Rain Box Planters. [online] available at: https://dubcitybeta.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/rain-box-planters/ (Accessed 3rd September, 2020).
3. Dublin City Council (2015). RAIN BOX PLANTERS. [online] available at: http://dccbeta.ie/index.php/project/article/rain-box-planters (Accessed 3rd September, 2020).
4. Fleming, A., Edger, M., O’Keeffe, C. (2005). Greater Dublin Strategic Drainage Study. Regional Drainage Policies - Volume 2: New Development. [pdf] available at: http://www.dublincity.ie/sites/default/files/content//WaterWasteEnvironment/WasteWater/Drainage/GreaterDublinStrategicDrainageStudy/Documents/Vol%202%20-%20Chapter%206%20-%20Stormwater%20Drainage%20Design.pdf (Accessed 3rd September, 2020).
Comments and notes
Additional insights
1. Rainwater Attenuation: the Rain Boxes should reduce the amount of rainwater reaching the main drain.
2. Satisfied Local Residents: the local residents should be happy for their downpipe to be cut and shortened; the shared nature of the item in question (a rainwater pipe is generally shared between two neighbours) should not cause any significant problems; the local residents should feel that the Rain Boxes have improved their street; the boxes should not require significant levels of maintenance from the residents; the boxes should not directly increase anti-social behaviour in the immediate vicinity; the residents should feel a sense of ownership over ‘their’ Rain Box.
3. Impact on Dublin City Council & Dublin City: the boxes should not require maintenance from Dublin City Council; the boxes should not impede people using the public footpath. Rain Boxes should not negatively affect street drainage or or other city infrastructure. (ref 1)
Pictures of the NBS
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/sites/default/files/nbs/images/rain_box_planter_2.jpg
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