For the first time in two months, water is once again flowing at the Liz Carpenter Fountain in Butler Park, now that the city has made some safety changes. Cecelia Holladay and her boys couldn't wait to get wet.
"I love it, I don't have to worry about swimwear or drowning or anything like that," Holladay said.
Families who head to the popular fountain will notice something new -- signs that say, "Please don't drink the water." The city is concerned about what people and sometimes their pets leave behind in the water that's pumped through the fountain's pipes over and over and over again.
The city is adding extra chlorine to the fountain on a weekly basis. It's also added an ultra-violet disinfection system to help kill bacteria.
Another change -- the small wading pools kids used to splash in are now gone. New state laws had labeled them a drowning hazard.
"The system we have in place now will help to make sure some of that water and the bacteria that gets in it is disinfected, but not to the point where it's 100 percent filtered," Hensley said. The City plans to start working on a long term solution to the water filtration problem once the hot summer comes to a close. "You're looking at almost 850 thousand dollars and that is almost a complete overhaul of the system," Hensley said.
No word on where that money will come from -- the department says it's already cut its budget as much as possible.
City of Austin Parks and Recreation director Sara Hensley says the short term safety measures will hold up against the thousands expected to use the fountain over the next few months. The changes cost Parks and Rec close to $30,000.
