City staff rushed shipping for parts to repair the splash fountain behind the Keizer Civic Center and get it operating this season.
The fountain opened Thursday, June 18. Located in Chalmer Jones Park, the play area features streams of water jetting upward from the ground and buttons allowing people to control the water.
It will be open between noon and 7 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday on days forecast to be over 75 degrees. The fountain will operate through Labor Day.
Keare Blaylock, public works director, said the fountain typically opens by the first day of summer. This year she said the city needed to purchase $2,600 in new parts to bring the fountain online.
When preparing the fountain for the season, Blayclock said, city staff found the control panel managing water pressure and chemicals was not functioning and needed to be replaced. She said the panel was outdated, and staff ordered overnight shipping on a newer model to replace it.
Once staff got the new control panel and began testing the sanitary chemicals used in the water – chlorine and muriatic acid – the fountain’s two chemical pumps failed, she said. The city needed to expedite shipping to replace the pumps as well, she said.
NEWS TIP? Contact reporter Krista Kroiss at [email protected].
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