Drainage clearances to increase due to flooding blocking village

The amount of drainage clearances on the Orchard Road in Clondalkin is set to increase next Autumn after several instances of flooding in the area, reports James Roulston Mooney.

The local authority’s road sweeping contractor will increase attendance at the location next Autumn after councillors raised the issue.

Flooding at this location is caused by leaves blocking the gullies, which tend to have cleared once the council’s workers reach the scene.

Councillor Eoin Ó Broin noted that the ‘ponding’ that was the result of heavy rainfall on the Orchard Road led to several traffic issues.

Cllr Ó Broin said: “This ponding resulted in a lot of traffic jams and buses being diverted from Clondalkin village because of these traffic jams.

“The 13 didn’t pass through so I struggle to believe that it’s only because of leaves…I wonder if we can really be guaranteed this won’t happen again.”

The Clondalkin councillor stated that he has never seen the issue as bad as it has been this year.

Other councillors echoed his statement and Councillor Francis Timmons noted that the issue has been raised several times in previous years.

Cllr Timmons added that houses are near the location and that cars that did drive through it encountered difficulties.

The council noted that the solution to the recurring issue is a simple one every time it pops up – simply lift the cover and watch the water go down the drain.

The pipes were jetted to ensure that there was no blockage, of which none were found.

Councillor William Carey suggested that the council attend sites such as the one on Orchard Road prior to the beginning of storm warnings to combat the issue as best they can.

Cllr Carey said: “Knowing that there’s an issue that has frequently occurred at this [location], why are we not there prior to the storms?

“When we had storm warnings coming in and rain warnings coming in, heavy rain warnings coming in, that we didn’t address that issue.

“The council hadn’t sent someone out, or someone on the council hadn’t gone out and said, ‘look, we know there’s an issue there, that’s going to be an issue – let’s get out there and make sure it’s clear beforehand.

“Perhaps it needs to be scheduled, particularly in the autumn, that these drains need to be particularly maintained if there is that type of blockage.

“Because it seems to me that, if that’s a simple blockage that’s happening on a frequent basis, then maybe we need to up our frequency of clearing these drains, because that would clearly solve the issue.”

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.