Concept2 Forum

The fair city that I call home has installed a floating fountain not too far from my club's dock. It appeared during the past week, just in time for Memorial Day. It creates a annoying obstacle to traffic to and from the dock, but my concern is really with health issues.

I have been told that in the past, the high school rowers had higher incidence of respiratory problems in years when the fountain was there. I can see why. Our river is hardly pristine. The fountain is spewing a mixture of agricultural chemicals, industrial toxins and who knows what pathogens into the air. You can feel the spray at a distance half way between the fountain and the dock on a calm day, and I imagine that fine aerosol particles of this witch's brew must stay airborne for quite some distance.

Has anyone had any experience with this type of situation?

bw

No Experience with such a thing, however it does seem like it would be something to address with the city. Is there any chance at all that it is connected to a fresh water source (city water)?

What does your city's Health Department say about it?

Sounds like the installation of the fountain was probably an aesthetic decision... Even if you discover that it is recirculating river water and the Health Dept. can't/won't help now, if you develop a good relationship with them, they may be willing to work with you to develop statistical data on illnesses going forward which might result in a later change in the "fountain policy."

Good luck.

Alissa

Here is what I have learned about fountains:

- The people who sell them tout how healthy they are - evoking images of a mountain waterfall, purifying your putrid cess pool and sending healthy ions into the air.

- Adverse health effects from outdoor fountains are rare, except for when people play in the fountain, either splashing around in the water of a public fountain on a hot summer day, or interacting with an interactive fountain, where you are presumably allowed to splash around in the water.

- Indoor fountains are somewhat more likely to cause adverse health effects, because of the recirculating water source and limited ventilation. Water quality needs to be monitored. Legionnaires desease is sometimes associated with indoor fountains.

I think our situation could be considered involuntary interaction with an outdoor fountain.

Someone from the club is talking to someone at the city. We'd like to be able to shut off the fountain when boats are present.

bw