Is it environmentally irresponsible for a business to run a water tap continuously for hours, just for rinsing?

I noticed this the other day when I was there. But it's just a small stream of water, not a full-sized water faucet. And would you rather have the utensils sitting around in fetid bacteria-festering water all day long? Then again, I'm in the US, so maybe it's worse over there in the UK.