Drumheller Fountain: dust, dirt and bird poo

If you find yourself asking, “What’s that smell, and where is it coming from?” while walking past the murky green centerpiece of campus, Drumheller Fountain, the answer is simple.

“Dust, dirt and bird poop,” said Jon Hooper, the facilities manager of Facilities Services.

“It doesn’t look that pretty,” said junior Rita Marable, a linguistics and Spanish major, who sat on a bench next to the pond. “I just sit here because I get good phone reception.”

Although the pond is cleaned on a regular basis, the situation this year is unique.

About a year ago, a liner was installed in the pond to prevent leaking, which was occurring through the sides of the walls of the pond into the surrounding underground moat. The liner has caused several problems, Hooper said.

The problems include an accumulation of organic materials and a lack of water movement, or aeration, during the winter.

“It’s gross,” sophomore Sterling Swigart said. “I’d really like to swim in it, but I’m kind of scared to jump in as it stands now.”

To combat the color and smell changes, the pond will undergo a massive cleaning operation.

“What we are going to be doing is draining, cleaning, and refilling it, and using some water cleaner in it,” Hooper said. “We haven’t decided yet, but it will be something non-toxic and able to digest that organic material.”

Facilities Services had to get a permit from the city to drain the more than 1 million gallons of pond water into the sewer.

The weeklong draining process is set to begin this week. It takes about three days to refill.

Facilities Services is required to pay for city water.

“We don’t treat the pond, so there are no chemicals in it,” he said. “I wouldn’t drink it, but the minute amount that might spray on somebody won’t hurt them.”

The pond and fountain should be pristine by June 2, just in time for commencement, Hooper said.

Drumheller Fountain was a gift from Regent Joseph Drumheller for the University’s centennial celebration in 1961, according to the UW campus tour Web site.

The pond inside the fountain, called Geyser Basin, served as a focal point of the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition in 1909.

The nickname Frosh Pond came about from a tradition of throwing freshmen into the waters against their will.