OPW: Office of Public Works
Oifig na nOibreacha Poiblí
Arterial Drainage Acts
History of Arterial Drainage
Flooding has been a major concern in this country for at least the past two centuries as reflected by the various Drainage Acts passed in, inter alia, 1842, 1867, 1925, 1928, 1945 and 1995.
The Arterial Drainage Act, 1945: The Browne Commission (Report of The Drainage Commission 1938-1940), which examined flooding and improvement of land through drainage, commenced its deliberations in 1938 and resulted in the development of the Arterial Drainage Act, 1945. This is the primary piece of legislation that we have operated over the last 50 years, and empowered the OPW to undertake catchment-wide arterial drainage schemes to reduce flooding.
Arterial Drainage Amendment Act, 1995: The emphasis of the 1945 Act was the improvement of agricultural land. Following severe flooding of a number of towns in the mid to late 80s and early 90s, the act was amended in 1995, when the emphasis of flood management activity shifted to the protection of urban areas subject to flooding. This amendment empowered the OPW to undertake localised flood relief schemes to protect and reduce flood risk in individual urban areas.
The full text of both of these Acts is available on the Houses of the Oireachtas website.
The Principal legislation and regulations most relevance to OPW in its flood risk managment activities are:
EU Floods Directive: The new Directive on the assessment and management of flood risks ("Floods Directive") which has been agreed between the EU Parliament and Council will increase the growing emphasis on flood risk management. This Directive is due to be transposed into Irish law by late 2009.
Click here for more information on aspects of the Arterial Drainage Act and EU Directive.