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Passers-by on Invercargill’s Gala St could be forgiven for mistaking the city’s main water fountain for a bubble bath at times.
A popular prank in the southern city is to fill the water with soap suds and watch as foam billows into the air, but the gag is costing Invercargill City Council more than $5000 a year to fix.
The topic was raised at a recent council workshop where parks and recreation manager Caroline Rain explained the process of neutralising the fountain involved “staff time and a few gallons of vinegar”.
Council general manager water services Matt Keil has provided further details, telling Local Democracy Reporting that the process was undertaken about 50 times a year by staff.
It was done at a cost of approximately $100 each time, he said.
“However, if you factor in the amount of staff time lost to remedying this – and subsequently being redirected from other tasks – the true cost is higher.
“Staff time would be better spent carrying out the necessary mahi their roles require.”
The fountain was discussed last week after Ms Rain told councillors the installation of backflow preventers on the city’s network had resulted in water meters going in, which added cost to budgets.
Options would need to be looked at in the future, such as funding water play and fountains at Queens Park and Gala St at an annual cost of more than $100,000, or turning the water off altogether.
Deputy mayor Grant Dermody felt the water play area in the park was different to the fountain which he said was likely “washed” by soap suds every couple of days.
Mr Dermody said the two should be looked at separately, and wondered if the council should consider emptying the fountain of water.
That view was met with a strong reaction from councillor Alex Crackett who said the “iconic water feature” was the only one in the city of that magnitude.
“I don’t think the public sentiment would go down very well at all if we were to talk about not having water running through it,” she said.
Mr Keil told Local Democracy Reporting, water meters were typically installed alongside backflow protection devices, and a device had been placed at the Queens Park entrance in 2025 to protect against cross-contamination.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.