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Benefits of INTERREG projects for Dublin City Council
1 June 2010
Flooding is one of the main hazards facing the city of Dublin..jpg)
The earlier INTERREG IIIB projects SAFER and NOAH and the current INTERREG IVB project FloodResilienCity have all led to clear benefits in terms of improving flood risk management in Dublin.
The Environmental and Engineering Department has long recognised the advantages of participation in EU funding programmes. The earlier INTERREG IIIB projects SAFER, NOAH and the current INTERREG IVB project FloodResilienCity have led to clear benefits when it comes to the professional knowledge gained about improving flood risk management.
Dublin Coastal Flooding Protection Scheme
Increased awareness of the coastal hazard, gained as part of the INTERREG projects, has also led to a number of capital projects being implemented to improve coastal flood defences. These have included:
Spencer Dock Restoration & Flood Gates
An innovative scheme to restore the Spencer Dock, which connects the sea to the inland Royal canal but which had fallen into disrepair, means that full navigation is now possible and has also provided a defence against sea surge. When, in 2002, about 400 hundred homes were flooded by the sea, inland areas previously thought to be safe were found to be at serious coastal flood risk and exposed to increased Total Tides levels as a result of climate change.
The restoration scheme, opened in 2009 by the Lord Mayor of Dublin and the Minister for State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works, involved the replacement of the earlier outer navigation gates with “sector” or sea surge defence gates.
Picture: Spencer Dock Flood Gates Picture: Area of City now defended
Source: Dublin City Council Source: Dublin City Council
River Dodder (Lower) Flood Defences
Working in collaboration with the Office of Public Works, the council has provided flood defences along the lower Dodder which also saw serious flooding in 2002. The lower Dodder connects to the sea in under one kilometre and provides a unique environment within the city. During the design phase, particular attention was paid to mitigating the impact on habitats. This included the provision of access slips from the river to the banks for otters.
Picture: River Dodder
Source: Dublin City Council
The Dublin Coastal Flood Forecasting System
Developed initially as a drainage division operational system, as part of the SAFER project, and further refined under the FloodResilienCity project, the Dublin Coastal Flood Forecasting System is now a proven product. Currently operating on an email and mobile phone basis, it is intended that this will be rolled out as a web based portal in 2010.
The coastal flood forecasting system (CFFS) combines two dominant natural phenomena (Astro tides and weather surges) to produce its forecast.
The Astro tide is the regular rise and fall of the tide as a result of the gravitational impact of the planets and the rotation of the earth. The dominant element is from the moon and there is a period of pronounced high tides every 28 days, when the tides are designated as “spring tides”. The height of the highest spring tide varies from one spring tide period to another and this is when the risk of a flood tide is greatest. In Dublin the tidal range is approximately ± 2.5 m.
Throughout the year, the actual tide level patterns observed can differ by a particular amount, known as ‘surge’. When the observed tide is higher than the predicted Astro tide it is referred to as positive surge and, if this is significant enough, it can lead to a risk of flooding. Positive surge is caused by the combined effects of low air pressures, effective over large areas of sea, and wind and can have both a widespread and local impact. A surge of between 0.8 and 1.0 m would be regarded as exceptional and is expected to occur only once or twice per year.
In combination, these give the observed, or “Total Tide”:
Source: Dublin City Council
The FRC team from Dublin City Council has developed a three-tier flood forecasting system covering 64 warning locations in the Dublin regions. This system is based on:
1. An annual review of Astro tides to identify the highest spring tides throughout the ensuing year.
2. A rolling 5/4-day manual forecast of the sea surge patterns coinciding with these high, spring tides.
3. An automated, 36 hr, detailed forecast of the total tides at the 64 warning points known as the Triton system.
One of the developments being undertaken in the FRC project is to automate stage 2.
Source: Dublin City Council
1 June 2010
Flooding is one of the main hazards facing the city of Dublin.
The earlier INTERREG IIIB projects SAFER and NOAH and the current INTERREG IVB project FloodResilienCity have all led to clear benefits in terms of improving flood risk management in Dublin. The Environmental and Engineering Department has long recognised the advantages of participation in EU funding programmes. The earlier INTERREG IIIB projects SAFER, NOAH and the current INTERREG IVB project FloodResilienCity have led to clear benefits when it comes to the professional knowledge gained about improving flood risk management.
Dublin Coastal Flooding Protection Scheme
Increased awareness of the coastal hazard, gained as part of the INTERREG projects, has also led to a number of capital projects being implemented to improve coastal flood defences. These have included:
Spencer Dock Restoration & Flood Gates
An innovative scheme to restore the Spencer Dock, which connects the sea to the inland Royal canal but which had fallen into disrepair, means that full navigation is now possible and has also provided a defence against sea surge. When, in 2002, about 400 hundred homes were flooded by the sea, inland areas previously thought to be safe were found to be at serious coastal flood risk and exposed to increased Total Tides levels as a result of climate change.
The restoration scheme, opened in 2009 by the Lord Mayor of Dublin and the Minister for State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works, involved the replacement of the earlier outer navigation gates with “sector” or sea surge defence gates.
Picture: Spencer Dock Flood Gates Picture: Area of City now defended
Source: Dublin City Council Source: Dublin City Council
River Dodder (Lower) Flood Defences Working in collaboration with the Office of Public Works, the council has provided flood defences along the lower Dodder which also saw serious flooding in 2002. The lower Dodder connects to the sea in under one kilometre and provides a unique environment within the city. During the design phase, particular attention was paid to mitigating the impact on habitats. This included the provision of access slips from the river to the banks for otters.
Picture: River Dodder
Source: Dublin City Council
The Dublin Coastal Flood Forecasting System
Developed initially as a drainage division operational system, as part of the SAFER project, and further refined under the FloodResilienCity project, the Dublin Coastal Flood Forecasting System is now a proven product. Currently operating on an email and mobile phone basis, it is intended that this will be rolled out as a web based portal in 2010.
The coastal flood forecasting system (CFFS) combines two dominant natural phenomena (Astro tides and weather surges) to produce its forecast.
The Astro tide is the regular rise and fall of the tide as a result of the gravitational impact of the planets and the rotation of the earth. The dominant element is from the moon and there is a period of pronounced high tides every 28 days, when the tides are designated as “spring tides”. The height of the highest spring tide varies from one spring tide period to another and this is when the risk of a flood tide is greatest. In Dublin the tidal range is approximately ± 2.5 m.
Throughout the year, the actual tide level patterns observed can differ by a particular amount, known as ‘surge’. When the observed tide is higher than the predicted Astro tide it is referred to as positive surge and, if this is significant enough, it can lead to a risk of flooding. Positive surge is caused by the combined effects of low air pressures, effective over large areas of sea, and wind and can have both a widespread and local impact. A surge of between 0.8 and 1.0 m would be regarded as exceptional and is expected to occur only once or twice per year.
In combination, these give the observed, or “Total Tide”:
Source: Dublin City Council
The FRC team from Dublin City Council has developed a three-tier flood forecasting system covering 64 warning locations in the Dublin regions. This system is based on:
1. An annual review of Astro tides to identify the highest spring tides throughout the ensuing year.
2. A rolling 5/4-day manual forecast of the sea surge patterns coinciding with these high, spring tides.
3. An automated, 36 hr, detailed forecast of the total tides at the 64 warning points known as the Triton system.
One of the developments being undertaken in the FRC project is to automate stage 2.
Source: Dublin City Council
