Two fountains on North Campus that have been dormant for more than a year will be gushing again soon-but not with water from the Athens municipal water system.
Physical Plant workers plan to have the fountains next to Old College and on Herty Field in operation by May 1, in time to be enjoyed by visitors on campus for spring Commencement ceremonies May 9. But the water in the fountains will be non-potable water collected from air conditioner condensate and from lakes and wells on campus.
“We are all very pleased with the effort of the Physical Plant staff members to enable the fountains to be up and running in time for Commencement as a tribute to our graduates,” said UGA President Michael F. Adams. “This effort is indicative of the hundreds of things they do every day to make this campus such a pleasant place to be.”
No drinkable water from the Athens water system will be used, according to Dexter Adams, director of the grounds department for the Physical Plant.
The fountains were turned off in late summer of 2007 as a water-saving measure to help Athens deal with a withering drought. Although drought conditions have eased, the university does not want to draw on municipal water for the fountains so alternate sources will be used. They include condensate collected from air conditioners on campus and water trucked in from lakes and wells on campus.
There is sufficient air conditioner condensate for the Old College fountain to function at full capacity. Physical Plant workers are installing a plumbing project at Old College to capture reclaimed condensate and pump the water to refill the fountain on a long-term basis.
The Herty Field fountain, which is larger and requires more water, will operate on a limited basis while sources of condensate “make-up” water are evaluated. Dexter Adams said the university has plans to build cisterns to capture rain water and condensate to run the Herty Field fountain in the future. Also under consideration are modifications to the spray pattern of the fountains to reduce the amount of water lost to evaporation. The Herty Field plans will be constructed when funding allows.