Well, If the pipes are TOO SMALL they can't cope with the water they get. This is the situation in Ballymun and there are no plans to increase the size of the pipes.
And if the River is TOO SMALL, it can't cope with the water it gets.
The result is flooding.
Flood water will ruin the foundations of a house. And even where water is not visible, it can rise through the wall of a house causing damp rot.
Under normal, natural conditions, when it rains water drains through the soil. From there it makes its way slowly to a river where it is drained to the sea. By draining slowly, nature has ensured the land doesn't get flooded.
The problem is that when the soil is covered, with houses and paths and roads and all the other things you find in towns, the water drains into pipes.
Once in the pipes the water drains into the rivers VERY FAST.
Ballymun contains over 800 acres of land. 32% of this is HARD SURFACE. Water drains from this into pipes and makes its way to the WAD RIVER.
BRL has said that the pipes in Ballymun are 'Clapped out'. So Ballymun already experiences flooding every year.
WORSE.
Rain water drains into the WAD RIVER. This is a small river that runs at the end of the estate along Poppintree Park. Also, a diversion was made many years ago and this flows down through Glasnevin to the Tolka River.
The WAD river is culverted or covered over.
This means that it has NO ROOM TO EXPAND when it gets water QUICKLY as it does in winter.
SO IT FLOODS.
September 2000
Pictures to enlarge
But they would need to build
28 OLYMPIC SIZED SWIMMING POOLS
to cope with flood water.
YET
Can you see them on the plans?
NO
So even if you ignore the danger to our children from these,
BRL has not even designed these 'ponds'.
because
the population of Ballymun is going to increase.
AND
The HARD SURFACE area will increase from 32% of BAllymun to 67% of Ballymun
after regeneration.
NO
BRL said (Newsletter Issue No.3 January 1998) that they have no money for drainage work.
The Government did release money to improve some of the pipes.
But NOT to put in bigger pipes or improve the Wad River.
Remember, not only will the current flooding continue.....
The inspector said that
THIS ISSUE WAS SO IMPORTANT
that BRL and Dublin Corporation should not be the only ones to agree on the issue of drainage.
The inspector implied that residents should have a say on these issues.
Yet BRL and Dublin Corporation have not even told Ballymun Residents about the flooding problems.
Remember, BRL reports to a Sub-Committee of Dublin Corporation so any agreement they come to is simply Dublin Corporation agreeing with Dublin Corporation!
THERE IS NO ROOM FOR THESE 'ATTENTUATION PONDS'.
So even if you ignore ALL the other problems of the BRL plan
THE WHOLE PLAN NEEDS TO BE REVIEWED SO THAT YOU DON'T GET FLOODED IN YOUR NEW HOUSE.
AND SO THAT YOUR CHILDREN ARE SAFE
Basically a swale is a fancy name for an open drain covered in grass. Larger versions, covering long stretches of fields are basically swamps during rainfall. Just in case you hear the word mentioned.
Weather from The Irish Times