Don't be a drain on the fountain budget

Following two incidents of vandalism to Welwyn Garden City’s Coronation Fountain on Parkway, Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council are urging people to think before playing pranks.

On Monday 12 November and Tuesday 13 November a large quantity of detergent was poured into the fountain, causing a huge amount of foam to be produced.

Whilst the council acknowledges that this could be seen as harmless fun, cleaning up the foam has proven to be a drain on resources set aside to maintain the fountain.

Every time detergent is poured into the fountain, the council must call a specialist contractor to rectify it using “Foambreaker”, a chemical which disperses foam. This costs at least £60 per visit, depending on how much foam is in the fountain.

In severe cases, when detergent is stuck in the fountain’s pump and filter, the fountain must be completely drained so the pipes can be flushed and the fountain refilled with water. Again this work is carried out by a specialist contractor at a cost of around £300 a time.

Following the incident on Monday 12 November, the council called the contractor who added the Foambreaker to the fountain. Late on the same evening more detergent was poured into the fountain. It is not yet known if the fountain is damaged and will need to be drained

Read the full story in the press release