Portlaoise gets thousands for new environmental river project

A project is set to get underway in Portlaoise on dealing rain that falls on the town's streets in a more environmentally friendly way.

Portlaoise Tidy Towns is getting €6,150 to improve what's known as sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) along the Triogue River. Vincent Booth is the Portlaoise Tidy Towns Chairperson.

"Portlaoise Tidy Towns applied for funding to implement sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) through the Community Water Development Fund. We will be working closely with Laois County Council and Greenpine Consultants on this project within the town. We hope to be able to treat surface water and rainwater in a more environmentally and sustainable way," he said.

It's claimed that SuDS improves the quality of surface water runoff and decreases runoff volumes as well as improve certain aspects of developments such as biodiversity, public amenity and make areas more visually attractive and vibrant.

Traditional surface water drainage systems send runoff through pipes and large underground storage tanks and bypass the natural buffering effect of vegetation and soils. As a result polluted runoff from streets and impermeable areas are not effectively managed prior to discharge to receiving rivers and watercourses.

The money was allocated by the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), working on behalf of Ireland’s 31 local authorities to protect and restore good water quality.

The Heath Group Water Scheme is getting €800 for weather station at The Heath National School while the Killeshin Waterworks Committee is getting €500 for the restoration of reservoir bypass sluice gates and erection of information signs

Since 2018, LAWPRO has made over €2.7m available through this funding scheme to local communities and groups, assisting in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive through Ireland’s River Basin Management Plan.