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Solving Dublin’s Water Shortage, 12th century style

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As anyone who lives in the city knows, Dublin is experiencing a serious water shortage at the moment. The recent cold spell has left older underground pipes cracked and leaking, and the City Council says it will take several months to repair them. The problem hasn’t been helped by many Dubliners who – incredibly – left their taps running all night, every night, to prevent their own pipes from freezing. This saw thousands of gallons of fresh, drinkable water going straight down the drain. (There’s no accounting for some people.)

Of course this isn’t the first time the city has faced a water crisis. In medieval times the city had its fair share of water problems. Dubliners treated water with a little more respect back then though; their lives depended on it, in more ways than one…

In the 1180s, city officials began two of the most ambitious water engineering projects ever undertaken: the redirection of the Poddle and the construction of a city moat. These were big, expensive tasks, but the city had reached a point where it had take action. Its growing population needed more freshwater and redirecting the Poddle was an effective solution. And with Dublin growing more prosperous and popular by the year, the city moat was needed to protect the castle and southern city wall from outside attack.

The job was huge – perhaps the biggest engineering task the city had ever undertaken – and took several years to complete. Precise calculations were needed to predict the flow of water. Sophisticated craftsmen were needed to make the right tools for the job. And hundreds of workers had to be recruited to dig the massive ditches in front of the city walls (in some areas up to 22 metres wide and 9 metres deep). By 1185, work was completed. The moat would remain a feature of Dublin city for centuries to come. Quenching Dublin’s thirst however, proved to be a trickier task.

By the 13th century, drinking water was again scarce in the city. This time round, city officials made an agreement with the monks of St. Thomas’ Abbey who owned a weir on the river Dodder. An artificial link was made, diverting more freshwater towards the city. (This may be the first recorded instance of public-private partnership.) The channel came to be known as the City Watercourse and ran for about three kilometres before joining up with the Poddle.

Much later, a canal was built that brought water via Dolphin’s Barn to James’ Street. There, a large public cistern gave citizens access to fresh water. From the cistern, water flowed along an open channel towards Thomas Street and then travelled by wooden troughs and leaden pipes to public fountains near Christ Church.

Over time, private pipes were run off this aqueduct into the homes of the wealthy. These were nothing like our modern pipes and taps, but would have been a significant luxury nonetheless. Records show, for example, that one Henry Marshal had a water pipe with a diameter of a goose quill. For this rare privilege he was required to present a bunch of roses to the city mayor every year on the 24th June.