Dublin City Council has defended its use of hosepipes to clean the streets of Dublin and says it will use canal water to deliver a "reduced street washing service" while water restrictions are in place.
In a statement, the council said it was making “every effort to minimise water usage while at the same time trying to maintain a minimum level of service in the city”.
The statement follows a tweet posted on Monday morning that showed a photo of Dublin City Council road cleaning employees using power hoses to rinse down O’Connell Street.
All of Dublin on a hose pipe ban and Dublin city council are power washing O’Connell st pic.twitter.com/x0UEcntv9f
— RoisinMaguire (@RoisinMWhite) July 2, 2018
The tweet, which has been liked near 2,000 times, carried the caption “All of Dublin on a hose pipe ban and Dublin city council are power washing O’Connell st”.
A month-long ban on watering gardens, washing cars or boats, and filling pools from public water supplies, using a hose, came into force in the greater Dublin area on Monday. It is likely to be extended to other areas by the end of the week. Any person who defies the ban could face a fine of up to €125.
In its statement, the council noted the ban applied to “domestic hosepipes only” but that in response to water restrictions in the Dublin area, the council cleaners would be using canal water to wash the streets while restrictions remain in place.
“We will seek to maintain a minimum level of washing on the main pedestrian routes within the city and areas where there are high levels of social activity particularly at weekends. This will be kept under close review.”
Irish Water said at the weekend it would follow up on reports of excessive water use but would only take action where they did not receive a positive response from the householder or there was “excessive and continuous usage” of water.
If Irish Water decides to take enforcement action, a notice will be served on the person alleged to have breached the order, giving them 21 days to pay €125. If this sum is paid, a prosecution will not be taken.
The water conservation order for the Greater Dublin Area will remain until July 31st as Irish Water monitors the situation nationally, with a decision later this week on whether to extend the ban to other parts of the country.
