Irish Water has said Department of Environment guidelines on the grading of boundary boxes for water meters are "non-binding on Irish Water", and the grade C boxes used to house water meters are permitted and proven to be suitable for the task.
On Wednesday, at a sitting of the Joint Oireachtas Sub- committee on Public Petitions, the utility was quizzed on the type of material used in its meter boxes, with queries raised over why the boxes used were Grade C, rather than the Grade B recommended in a 2009 Department of Environment Circular on the recommended safety standards for meter installation.
At this sitting Jerry Grant of Irish Water told the committee that the vast majority of Irish Water’s boundary boxes - which house the meter - are the plastic grade C.
The Department of Environment guidelines set out the default standard as the stronger cast iron grade B to be used in the “absence of a fully engineered design”.
However, the utility has said: "The (guidelines are) non-binding upon Irish Water."
The grade B boxes are built with the expectation of having to withstand the pressure of being under a parked car – such as if the meter is installed in a driveway. Irish water however say their installations use footpaths with driveway access, rather than being in the driveway itself.
In a statement sent to Newstalk on Thursday, the utility said they are “satisfied that all the relevant design considerations have been taken into account in respect of the design and installation of the grade C surface boxes.”
The use of grade B boxes is not necessary in this instance they say, as “evidence from past installations of the grade C surface boxes in Ireland and the UK clearly supports their use in residential footpaths including footpaths subject to slow-moving traffic while accessing to driveways.”
The guidelines are “not binding on Irish Water”, Jerry Grant of Irish Water told the Oireachtas sub-committee on Wednesday.
Mr Grant also told TDs that there was no concern regarding the quality of the boxes.
“We’ve also had an independent load testing carried out on the grade C surface blocks, which has been proven to withstand loads of more than two tonnes,” he said.
“As part of the test a stone was placed on a surface block and a car used to impose the load on the stone.
“The result of the test was that the car tyre deformed around the stone and came into contact with the surface blocks. The test was abandoned when we became afraid that the tyre would actually explode.”
Mr Grant told TDs and Senators that the utility has installed 755,000 meters across the country so far. Of this total 645,00 also required the installation of new boundary boxes.
Today’s statement from Irish Water expands on this, saying that the utility feels the results so far of the use of grade C boxes “entirely vindicates Irish Water’s chosen approach”.
They also say that grade C boxes have been used by local authorities between 2002 to 2009 in some 225,000 installations for non-domestic customers.
Originally published: 23/9, 21.43
