Tired of seeing the Main Building water fountain dry? Have you even wondered why the fountain had no water? To comply with the City of Austin water restrictions in response to the severe drought, operation of water fountains utilizing domestic water was prohibited. Knowing how dear this fountain is to all of us, our Facilities Department came up with a very creative and sustainable way to get the fountain flowing again! It may surprise you to know that it’s actually water that has been reclaimed from the campus swimming pool discharge. Every two weeks, about 300 gallons of water are harvested from the discharge produced when the pool filter is backwashed (cleaned). This water, which otherwise would have gone into the sanitary sewer, is then transported to the fountain by our Grounds staff to be reused. During this historic drought, that makes a huge difference!