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City would kindly like people to stop putting soap in downtown fountain

More of a nuisance, and unnecessary expense, than an environmental concern
20160716 foamy fountain ts
The fountain in St. George's Square gets foamy after yet another soaping Saturday, July 16, 2016. Tony Saxon/GuelphToday

It's a longstanding tradition in Guelph: putting soap in the fountain in St. George's Square so that it all foams up.

Looks pretty, kinda' funny. And the city would kindly like you to stop.

It happened most recently last weekend. It seems to happen several times when the university is in full swing.

"It's a nuisance and people shouldn't do it. It creates extra work for our staff, that's for sure," said Mario Petricevic, the city's general manager of

planning and facilities management.

"Our guys have to go by and put defoamer in it and that also creates a bit of a greasy film."

The fountain water is recirculated, so the soap doesn't actually get into the city's water system, but there is the chance of some of it ending up in the storm water system because of phosphorus in the soap compound.

"Phosphorus naturally occurs in bodies of water. Soap added to the fountain could be a concern if this was a regular occurrence and found its way to a water course. This has not been the case to date and so although undesirable of course for people to add soap to the fountain, it is not so much an environmental concern as it is a nuisance," Petricevic said, using info from the city's environmental department.

"We're at the fountain two or three times a week to check on it and top up the water during the hot weather," Petricevic said. "When people put the soap in it just means we have to go by more often."

 

 

 


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Tony Saxon

About the Author: Tony Saxon

Tony Saxon has had a rich and varied 30 year career as a journalist, an award winning correspondent, columnist, reporter, feature writer and photographer.
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