All that's missing is water

When is a public fountain not a fountain? That’s the dilemma facing the City of Oceanside, as it was prepared to turn on its civic center fountain after a seven-month, $378,000 refurbishing.

The city’s water department advised the city council last week that under Governor Brown’s latest round of water restrictions, turning on the fountain now would not seem prudent.

Gary Smith, an associate engineer for the city and the project’s manager, told the Reader on April 30, “We want to make a statement [saving water], so it wouldn’t be best at this time.”

The project was completely finished on April 20 and came in about $40,000 under budget. Now a five-foot decorative wrought iron fence will be erected around the large plaza’s empty fountain, similar to the design used nearby to block off access to the Coaster train tracks. “But it will not be a permanent fence,” says Smith.

According to Smith, the original plan was to use reclaimed water from various sources, including the Buccaneer Beach sewer plant’s reclamation or the fire department’s reclaimed training water. “Even reclaimed water has drawbacks,” said Smith. “We’ve found bursts of fecal coliform in some reclaimed water.”

Other options were explored, including using seawater, which would have to be desalinated. How about filling it in and making it a planter? “That has been suggested,” said Smith. “We even thought about drilling a well right on the property, but that’s what’s restricted — use of potable water.”

“The city’s plan is to still have water in it at some time in the future,” Smith stated.