October 6, 2017 | Big Improvements at the Fountain

Friends and neighbors:

On Friday, Oct. 6, contractors for the City of Berkeley began a long-awaited project to re-route the drainage of the Fountain at The Circle from the city’s storm drains to the sanitary sewer. This changeover is required by state law, and will put the fountain in compliance for the first time since the law began requiring it.

The work is expected to take about a week, so expect to see work crews out on the center island regularly until it is done.

Concurrent with this project, or soon after, city workers will be replacing the heavy doors covering the subterranean vault that holds the pump system that powers the fountain. The new doors will be lighter and use new springs that make opening and closing easier and safer for city workers and volunteers who maintain the fountain.

Once these projects are complete, sometime this fall or winter, new groundcover will be planted on the center island around the fountain and in the parking strips that surround The Circle. This low-growing, drought-tolerant new vegetation will replace the browning, weed-riddled sod there now and, it is hoped, will keep these public areas green and more aesthetically pleasing year-round.

While these projects are being funded by the city, it is your interest, support and investment in being a Friend of the Fountain that has kept this historic treasure, along with nearby Fountain Walk, a vital and well-maintained part of Berkeley’s present and, we are sure, its future.

Please contact us with any questions at fountainandwalk@gmail.com, or click the links at the top of the page to learn how to volunteer or donate.

Thank you.

–Michael Gray for Friends of the Fountain and Walk