Dublin City Council intends to build flood defences along the river Dodder beside Marian College and Lansdowne Road. The defence level will be 5.0M above the Malin Head mark, the Malin Head mark being the set tidal level in the Irish Grid Reference System. So the flood defences will be 5.0 metres above the mean at Malin Head. The Part 8 planning process for phase 2b of the Dodder Alleviation works from Lansdowne Road Bridge back up to the Railway Bridge on both sides of the Dodder will consist of floodwalls at the rear of the gardens on Lansdowne Road and the Green area beside Lansdowne Road Bridge.

On the other side at Marian College, the railings lining the pedestrian walk will be taken down and replaced with a wall. The IRFU has been carrying out works on the Dodder in line with the construction of the new stadium and just on the other side next to Lansdowne Village there are already flood defences going in courtesy of Dublin City Council. This means residents from Stella Gardens up to the beginning of the Sweepstakes will be protected in times of storms and heavy rain.

Dutch Dam (a folding standby flood defence system) temporary flood defences will still be required for high water levels on the Marian College side of Newbridge Road and at the rear entrance to Marian College and on the walkway to Railway Cottages.

The job of building further flood defences from the railway bridge upstream to Donnybrook Bridge has been put out to tender with the closing date for expressions of interest the 5th of March 2010. If a Dutch Dam is put in for Railway Cottages, it simply divert flooding back up towards the Sweepstakes and Ballsbridge Terrace. Not an easy area for the City’s engineers.