Medicine Hat's two broken fountains to stay dry until at least 2029

Medicine Hat city administration will not bring water back to two ornamental fountains that have sat dry for years before the 2029–30 budget at the earliest, and plans a low-cost treatment to make both sites safe and presentable in the meantime, staff told the city's Public Services Committee on Monday.

The Riverside Veterans Memorial Park fountain has been out of service since 2018. The Dan McCharles Park fountain on Prospect Drive also remains offline. Administration said it intends to preserve the artwork at both sites while pursuing what staff described as a low-cost solution to make the spaces safe and presentable, according to the meeting agenda package.

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"Our intention at this point, as suggested, would be to maintain the artwork and ensure that the features are cared for, to ensure that these are safe spaces, but to move forward with what would be a low-cost viable solution that would ensure that is safe and attractive at this point," city staff said during Monday's committee meeting. "If we were to look forward or look towards reinstating the water features, we'd need to come back for a budget amendment or to build it into the — too late for '27-'28, but potentially '29-'30 budget at this point."

Acting Director of Parks and Recreation Scott Richter told the committee that both fountains are non-recirculating, meaning all water they used was discharged to the sewer rather than reused. Richter said the mechanical components that were evaluated at Riverside were only those visible above ground, and the condition of buried electrical and water infrastructure remains unknown.

Richter said options for the sites range from leaving them as they are, to filling the basins with soil and creating planters, to removing infrastructure down to the artwork and relaying sod or pavers. He said a community member had suggested placing painted rocks in the fountain basin as a decorative measure, though he noted such rocks could end up being used in ways that were not intended.

The item was brought to committee at the request of Coun. Brian Varga, who said community members have repeatedly asked why the fountains are not running and whether they were simply being neglected.

"It bothers me to see water features that aren't operating, and I don't think I'm alone in that," Varga said during Monday's meeting. "So I was wondering what it would take to get them restored, whether they were just being ignored."

Varga, who said he remembered the Dan McCharles fountain from childhood, described the mosaic artwork there as a depiction of Dr. Dan McCharles, the family physician after whom the park is named, and called it a piece that may need cleaning and restoration even if the water is never restored. He said the Riverside fountain has become a place of concern given changes in how the surrounding park is used.

"I would dearly love to see them made operational again if that was fiscally reasonable and responsible thing to do," Varga said. "But don't leave them as non-functioning water features."

One councillor asked whether a float-valve system fed by an irrigation line could keep water in the basins at low cost without restoring the original plumbing. Richter said that option could be examined, and that the appropriate solution would depend on what level of water feature the committee wanted — a trickle of water versus a full restoration.

Richter said the city's water rate is close to $1.50 per cubic metre, and that calculating the seasonal operating cost of running either fountain from May to September would be part of any fuller evaluation.

Staff said the intention is not to leave the spaces unchanged for the next two years, and that a low-cost interim treatment would be pursued while keeping the door open to a future budget request. Any formal proposal to restore the water features would need to go through the budget process, with 2029–30 identified as the earliest realistic opportunity.

No motion was passed and no vote was recorded on the item, which was before the committee as an information item. Administration is expected to bring forward options for the interim treatment of both sites as planning work continues.