[Summit] Sorry, Fountain is Nice, but not Magic

[Laura Howe]

I'm with Emlyn and Greg on the desirability of splash-in water displays like those in NYC and elsewhere.  The fountain in Lippitt Park either makes one hot, thirsty, and mildly depressed to see it empty or longing for water one can feel, when it is working but off-limits to all but the eyes and ears.
Laura Howe
      From: Greg Gerritt <gerritt at mindspring.com>
 To: Emlyn Addison <noisyblocks at gmail.com>; Summit Neighborhood <Summit at sna.providence.ri.us> 
 Sent: Tuesday, September 8, 2015 11:49 AM
 Subject: Re: [Summit] Sorry, Fountain is Nice, but not Magic
   
<!--#yiv1791056647 DIV {margin:0px;}-->I really like the Millenium Park water feature in Chicago.  When I was at a conference in Chicago, I went to cool off every afternoon.  greg


-----Original Message----- 
From: Emlyn Addison 
Sent: Sep 8, 2015 11:44 AM 
To: Summit Neighborhood 
Subject: Re: [Summit] Sorry, Fountain is Nice, but not Magic 

Sometimes I wonder if the the glut of information at our fingertips has turned us into worrywarts. My childhood was spent playing in all kinds of water and I (and most others) seem to have done OK. It's not like the Lippitt fountain is a pool of *stagnant* water.
But if the science says there's a real danger and the consensus is that it should be off-limits to kids, this has become an expensive, largely symbolic hunk of granite with marginal curb appeal, and which is only sometimes a fountain. The East side feels like it's getting younger--is it so far-fetched to consider something that accommodates this new demographic? Everything costs money, but a splash pad modeled after something like NYC's Washington Square park would serve a dual purpose. They have lovely ones in Canada too; we can even keep the benches.

On Tue, Sep 8, 2015 at 11:03 AM, Breslers <breslerfamily at gmail.com> wrote:

Fountains are a LOT of work, and NOT always for going in.

1) Yes, things need to be sealed or they leak. The earth, under our feet & the fountain, shifts constantly, not enough for us to see it (unless there's an earthquake) but enough to make a difference. That's why doors in your house stick sometimes and not other times.
The caulk is flexible and absorbs the shifts. Without it, even small openings will eventually drain the water.

"Children" may have pulled out the caulk, but there are also people of all ages with certain kinds of obsessive-compulsive-disorder who can not help themselves- they will undo anything that pulls out like that.  My husband plays music in schools and has had students patiently peel apart his instruments when he wasn't looking.

I think we may need "un-peelable" caulk. Although it will probably be harder to maintain.

2) It's fun to run in cool water when it is hot, but it is NOT fun to deal with the consequences of getting a face full of bacteria infected water. 
I took a course to be certified as a licensed pool operator, 
and small, un-treated bodies of water are a happy home for:
legionaires disease, 
shigella (disentery) 
salmonella, 
E. Coli, 
parasites,
norovirus...
plus more garden variety things that cause fever & diarrhea.
Warm puddles at the edges grow things also, which are then tracked in.

Unless someone wants to raise the money for a treatment system and to pay a professional- who knows what they are doing- to test the water multiple times daily, we need to let go of the running in the fountain fantasy.
And, no. you can't just throw in some chlorine.
The extremely high pH of Providence water renders chlorine useless. 
You have to adjust the pH also, plus there is a third factor.
Then sun, aeration & body oils will change what you have done quickly.

 YES, I remember running in a fountain as a kid, and it STANK of chlorine. 
Someone was taking care of the water safety.

Mrs B.



-- 
FISHEL BRESLER'S KLEZMER & HASSIDIC MUSIC -
funded in part by a Folk Arts Fellowship grant from the RI State Council on the Arts.
www.LinkedIn.com/in/FishelBresler

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