A water fountain on Van Horne Street at Cumberland. Its been spewing water since Sunday after a broken waterline repair by city work crews.
Can it be turned off? Apparently not. What is our Environment Department waiting to happen before the fountain can be shut down?
- A part? Maybe the Environment Department has ordered a part on Amazon.ca and are waiting for it to be delivered. That can take a while.
- Sunday? Maybe the Environment Department is waiting for Sunday to make the repair so it can pay the workers double time and a half. $50-$60 per hour.
- Waiting for spring? Maybe the Environment Department is waiting for spring because its warmer and workers don’t like being out in the cold…but maybe for $60/hr?
- New winter splash pad for the neighbourhood children? The skating rink at Prince Arthur’s Landing is not near as popular as the summer splash pad at the same location. Splash pads in winter…new tourist attraction?
- Ontario and Canada to come to the table? Maybe the City of Thunder Bay wants to move this fountain to Prince Arthur’s Landing, Thunder Bay’s premier tourist attraction, and is waiting for senior levels of government to provide matching funds so city funds can be leveraged.
Whatever the reason, next time you go to pay your water bill, think of the City of Thunder Bay and how water has zero value to its Environment Department. Think how tens of thousands of litres of treated water flowing into the sewer every day is no big deal.
And to think I am trying to keep my water usage down to the bare minimum.
