Office of Public Works (OPW)
Consent Requirements – Construction/Alteration of Watercourse Infrastructure
Published on 9 January 2018
Last updated on 24 March 2022
- Introduction
- Restrictions on the Construction or Alteration of Bridges and Culverts
- Modification or Relocation of Watercourse, Embankment or Other Works
- Restrictions on the Erection/Alteration of Weirs
- Further Information and Forms
Introduction
The OPW seeks to maintain the existing conveyance and storage capacities of channels and floodplains. The design and construction of bridges and culverts should be such that flood risks up- and / or down-stream are not increased, or, where no other viable options exist, are restricted to acceptable levels, and should comply with any flood risk management objectives and plans established for the area.
Restrictions on the Construction or Alteration of Bridges and Culverts
Section 50: Arterial Drainage Act, 1945 The consent of the Commissioners is required by bodies and persons proposing to carry out construction/alteration works on bridges and culverts.
Modification or Relocation of Watercourse, Embankment or Other Works
Section 9: Arterial Drainage Amendment Act, 1995 The Commissioners may consent to alterations to existing watercourses or structures in Drainage Schemes if the proposed works would not increase the risk of flooding or have a negative impact on drainage of land. This section applies to regrading or relocation of watercourses, replacement or relocation of embankments and various other works on Drainage Schemes. Applications under this section are dealt with on a case by case basis, and applications should be addressed to the appropriate OPW regional office.
Restrictions on the Erection/Alteration of Weirs
Section 47: Arterial Drainage Act, 1945 Any person planning to erect or alter a weir must first get consent from the Commissioners or all the affected landowners. The Commissioners may grant consent only where the applicant meets stringent requirements. The ESB is exempt from this requirement as a separate statutory process is in place.
Further Information and Forms
- Examples of Applications
- Reference Information and Technical Guidance Material for Applicants
- Hydrometric and Hydrological Data
- Reported Flood Event Data on FloodInfo.ie
Section 50 brochure
Section 50 Application Form – PDF
Section 50 Application Form – Word
AIE 4/4/23
Under the AIE Regs to request copies of
1) all Section 50s granted
2) all Section 50s refused
3) all Section 9s granted
4) all Section 9s refused
5) all Section 47s granted
6) all Section 47s refused
Please include the initial Application Form AND the OPW documents granting/ refusing the consent
For the purposes if this AIE, please consider the years 2021, 2022 and 2023 to date
For the purposes of this AIE, active disclosure via publication of consents on gov.ie or similar will suffice
Appeal against OPW refusal to release correspondence between the Office of Public Works and the staff of, including the members of the Executive of Roscommon County Council and/or the elected members of Roscommon County Council concerning flooding and/or proposed flood relief works at Lough Funshinagh, County Roscommon
Memorandum of Understanding between EPA and OPW
OPW Arterial Drainage Scheme Channels
Map
Drainage District Channels
Map
West Cork Flood Relief Schemes
Non-Return Valves
• River Ilen (Skibbereen) Flood Relief Scheme (also known as the Skibbereen FRS)
• River Bandon Flood Relief Scheme (also known as the Bandon FRS)
• Clonakilty Flood Relief Scheme (also known as the Clonakilty FRS)
These schemes were built under the OPW powers of the Arterial Drainage Acts 1945 & as amended in 1995.
The above schemes are now in the Operation & Maintenance (O&M) phase.
AIE Request: Submissions received on the Consultation on the Draft Arterial Drainage Maintenance Activities 2022-2027 and associated SEA Environmental Report and AA Natura Impact Statement Report
Under the AIE Regs to request copy of the submissions received on the Consultation on the Draft Arterial Drainage Maintenance Activities 2022-2027 and associated SEA Environmental Report and AA Natura Impact Statement Report
The original closing date for submissions was extended by the OPW. There is a statutory obligation for the OPW to consult with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, and the OPW welcome submissions from individuals/bodies during a consultation process.
“I have seen many actions on the river Moy by the OPW destroying the trees along the banks”
East Mayo Anglers Association
Killmastulla Drainage Committee in Tipperary
Response from the Wild Trout Trust
Note: worth a read as a very considered submission that is a good summary of the issues
The Arterial Drainage Act in Ireland has delivered severe dredging, realignment and incision of many watercourses, altering their natural hydromorphological processes and in many cases leading to degradation of channel form and function
East Mayo Anglers, Swinford, Co. Mayo
DAERA NI
LAWPRO Submission
015 Record in public domain
Irish Ramsar Wetland Committee Submission
019 Record in public domain – EPA submission
OPW: Engineering Consultancy Services – East Region Embankments – Survey and Data Processing
OPW Open Data Strategy
Under the AIE Regs to request the following records in relation to OPW compliance with the Open Data Directive.
1. Any data audits conducted by or for OPW to identify environmental datasets under the Open Data Directive
a. The Flood Risk Management programme has carried out an audit of datasets and developed a Data Release Policy and Data Catalogue with metadata for each dataset. This is currently in use internally and it is planned to make a subset of the data available externally for open access. In the meantime, a full list of Flood Risk Management related spatial datasets and their applicable release policy and licences are available to view on https://www.floodinfo.ie/contact/ See also Schedule of Documents for a direct link.
b. No audits have been carried out in the Estate Management Programme and in Corporate Services.
2. Directive 2019/1024/EU introduces the concept of high value datasets (HVDs). Please list any HVDs identified by OPW
a. The EU Commission has recently published an Implementing Regulation relating to High Value Datasets on 21st December 2022. [The] Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It shall apply from 16 months after entry into force of this Regulation. Press release: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-defines-high-value-datasets-be-made-available-re-use Regulation: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32023R0138&from=EN
b. The OPW has not acted on this regulation to date.
c. The OPW publishes the Iris Oifigiul on behalf of the Government. Iris Oifigiul is likely to be identified as a HVD of national significance. The current version of Iris Oifigiul is a one or two star open data resource.
3. Under Regulation 4 of SI 376/2021 all Departments/Offices and relevant bodies under their aegis are obliged to supply to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform with information as requested from time to time, such as open data progress reports. Provide copies of the OPW progress reports as supplied to PER.
a. See attached report dated 25th January 2023
4. All Departments/Offices and relevant bodies under their aegis must assign responsibility to an officer for matters arising under these Regulations in line with the national Open Data Strategy. Please provide contacts for any Open Data officers appointed at OPW from 2021 to date
a. Vincent Hussey, Assistant Chief Engineer, Flood Risk Management Data Services and Flood Relief Design. opendata@opw.ie
5. In line with Regulation 13 of SI 376/2021, the details of any new exclusive arrangements being entered into must be published online at least two months before they come into force. Please provide list of any exclusive arrangements agreed to date by OPW
a. None
6. Any exemptions sought by OPW to the release of open data, and which datasets these exemptions related to
a. A full list of Flood Risk Management related spatial datasets and their applicable release policy and licences are available to view on https://www.floodinfo.ie/contact/ . Many datasets are published under the CC-BY license, however some Flood related data published via www.floodinfo.ie are licensed under the CC-BY-NC-ND license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode because of their commercial sensitivity. This data shows risk at community level. Individual property owners and occupiers could be significantly disadvantaged by the release of this data through loss of access to financial services (e.g. Insurance and Mortgage Credit).
7. Public Bodies must draft an Open Data Publication Plan. Provide a copy of any OPW draft or completed open data plans to date
a. See Flood Risk Management Data Policy, noting that it is the OPW’s policy to publish on the internet much of the data that it creates and collects in relation to Flood Risk Management as a matter of routine. Technical solutions are continuously reviewed and implemented to provide direct access to the data, where licenses permit.
8. All public bodies need to publish details of what data is available for re-use and the licencing conditions that apply (CC BY 4.0 Attribution advised). Please provide a list of (where this differs from data audit list, see above)
a. The is a link to an Open Data page on the OPW home page on www.gov.ie at https://www.gov.ie/en/organisation/office-of-public-works/
b. The Open Data page at https://www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/0fecc-open-data/
c. The currently published list is available here: https://data.gov.ie/organization/office-of-public-works
d. In addition, OPW lidar data is published through the GSI managed Open Topographic Data Viewer https://dcenr.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=b7c4b0e763964070ad69bf8c1572c9f5
e. Other data may be requested through flood_data@opw.ie or opendata@opw.ie
f. The OPW maintains a number of libraries, including the collections at the National Botanic Gardens, and archives containing items of cultural heritage. The OPW maintains several libraries, students and researchers are welcome to contact the OPW library at library@opw.ie for details on library holdings.
g. A full list of Flood Risk Management related spatial datasets and their applicable release policy and licences are available to view on https://www.floodinfo.ie/contact/ . Many datasets are also displayed in map-centric format or as report pages on the OPW’s National Flood Information Portal, which can be used by the public subject to accepting the website Terms and Conditions.
h. The National Botanic Gardens make a number of datasets available on their website: http://botanicgardens.ie We conduct research and gather information on our collections on various databases. We already have our living collection lists on our website along with previous publications concerning the contents of the herbarium (dried plant) Collection. We host the Tree Register of Ireland at the Botanic Gardens, which falls under the Tree Council, a subset of these were formerly available on the Tree Council’s website.
9. Copy of OPW’s RPSI Policy (RPSI is Reuse of Public Sector Information)
a. See https://www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/0fecc-open-data/