Bubbles In The Fountain

MARIETTA, OH — On Monday, May 17th it happened again. Bubbles in the fountain. Time and time again, people have poured soap into the fountain, making it run over with bubbly foam. It might look like harmless fun, but city officials say it isn't.

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A number of members of the MOV What's Happening Facebook group shared images of the fountain overflowing. There were comments such as "I think it looks awesome," and "Do it again !" One person even took credit for the act and claimed that they would do it again. It isn't known if this was a joke, or not. One member of the group asked folks not to do this, saying that it's bad for the pump.

The jury is out on whether soap is bad for the pumps or not. It appears that some soaps definitely are. Marietta City Law Director Paul Bertram said one year someone poured Tide powder in and it destroyed the pump. "It just ate it up like it was sand." Even if the type of soap used doesn't cause damage, it's a nuisance. Every time the fountain gets bubbled, the city has to shut the fountain down, flush it, and refill it.

Marietta Mayor Josh Schlicher said the fountain isn't cheap to fix. "We've invested about $8,000 in that just in the last year, plus our time." He said it's a hassle for city work crews. "It takes them away from jobs we'd rather they be doing."

Schlicher isn't pleased with whoever's doing this. "The fountain is not made for that." He said it isn't funny and if you want to have fun like that, do it in your own backyard. He's seen pedestrians have to walk in the street to get around all the bubbles. "So it's a safety hazard too."

But what is the appropriate action for something like this? The city's law director Paul Bertram said punishment could vary. "The lowest possible tier would be disorderly conduct." But if someone put a lot of soap in that damaged the pump, "Then you could get into criminal damaging, vandalism or criminal mischief."

Before someone gets the bright idea to do this with liquid dish soap, Bertram wants folks to know they have cameras. "We do now, and they aren't too bad." He said they're in an undisclosed location, and he's not referring to the one on the LaFayette Hotel.

Deana Clark of the Marietta-Washington County Convention and Visitor's Bureau asked folks to not do this out of respect for the city, "we just did all this work to get it up and running." Clark likes to point to the downtown fountain as a focal point of the city. "Maybe we aren't New York City, or down in Miami where we see all these beautiful fountains everywhere, but it's what we have."

Christie Thomas of Marietta Main Street echoed Clark's sentiment saying the public let them know they care about the fountain. "That fountain is of significance to the community." It's an important feature of Marietta. "So much so that when we're planning for riverfront development along the confluence, it's something we're planning to maintain at this point in time." They're going to keep it there and work around it. She asks folks to respect the fountain as much as the city does.

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