Dresden's fountains should not remain dry

"Wenn alle Brünnlein fließen ....": The well-known German folk song sounds more like a battle song in Dresden this year too. Just in time for the start of the fountain season, a dispute has broken out over responsibilities and cuts for the 82 fountains, water features and drinking fountains. Holger Zastrow, former state leader of the FDP in Saxony and now Dresden city councillor for "Team Zastrow", demanded that Eva Jähnigen (Greens), Mayor of the Environment, be relieved of responsibility for the fountains.

"The Lord Mayor should make the fountains a top priority," Zastrow told the German Press Agency, referring to his former party colleague, Lord Mayor Dirk Hilbert (FDP). The city had installed a so-called fog shower on Hauptstraße for almost 50,000 euros, for example, but "allegedly no money for fountains".

Mayor demands more money for fountain operation

Eva Jähnigen immediately disagreed. "Mr. Zastrow's proposal unfortunately lacks a link to reality: the city's budgetary situation on the one hand and the underfunding of the fountain operation with increasing maintenance problems and repair requirements on the other will not change as a result of other administrative responsibilities." In addition to better funding for the responsible department, a supplementary budget and an end to the municipal budget freeze are necessary first and foremost.

"Everyone who cares about the operation of our drinking water and fountains as much as I do must work towards this," Jähnigen told dpa. She was pleased that projects such as the trial operation of fog nozzles could still be made possible despite the difficult budget situation. "As Mr. Zastrow knows as a long-standing member of the city council, projects of this kind are financed from other sources and are not a permanent task like the fountains."

According to the administration, there are 102 water facilities in Dresden, including 71 fountains and 11 drinking fountains. Of the latter 82 facilities, 73 are due to go into operation this year - the last by the end of next week. "The opening of the fountain season generally takes around four to six weeks and is a dynamic process. The commissioning of a fountain also depends on whether damage has occurred over the winter that can be repaired immediately, with a time delay or not at all.

Fountain season costs the city of Dresden up to 700,000 euros

According to the city administration, a financial requirement of between 390,000 and 700,000 euros should be set aside for a fountain season. With this budget, the facilities should be able to run from April to October, damage and vandalism should be repaired quickly and wearing parts should be replaced promptly. The funds would be needed for maintenance, repairs, cleaning and electricity as well as for water and waste water. However, a maximum of 350,000 euros has been set aside in the current budget.

"Due to the budget freeze, only 50 percent of this reduced amount has been approved for the time being and will be increased to 80 percent if the supplementary bill is confirmed," it said.

Last year, there was already a dispute about how many fountains could be put into operation for cost reasons. The Left Party wanted to get the fountains bubbling by means of an urgent motion in the city council. The administration, on the other hand, wanted to refrain from switching on the majority of the facilities for cost reasons. Fountains and water features would make a significant contribution to the quality of life in Dresden, the left-wingers argued at the time.