Millennium fountain damaged, tug responsible?

A boat or other object is believed to have knocked out two of the seven nozzles on the City's Millennium Fountain, City officials reported today.

City Hall announced that one nozzle is damaged under water and another is missing completely.

The City says a third nozzle was turned off to provide temporary symmetry.

That would leave just four nozzles operating, however SooToday's photographer visited the scene at 4:30 p.m. Thursday and found five, as shown in our image taken at that hour.

Shortly before 5 p.m., City Clerk Donna Irving told SooToday News that preliminary reports were being received as to who might be responsible.

EZ-Rock 100.5, meanwhile, is quoting two witnesses (including Ward 2 Councillor Brady Irwin) as saying that during Saturday's tugboat races, they saw one tug pass on the wrong side of a buoy placed to keep boats away from the jets.

Here's the full text of a statement released today by City Hall: *************************************************************************** Millennium fountain damaged after one-year anniversary

The City of Sault Ste, Marie has recently discovered that the Millennium Fountain has been damaged on the anniversary of its opening.

Currently only four of the seven nozzles are operational, and the overall look of the fountain is not as aesthetically pleasing as it was prior to the damage.

It would appear that a boat or object has hit the fountain, damaging two of the seven nozzles.

One of the nozzles not working has disappeared completely and will need to be ordered. A second nozzle has damage under the water.

Both continue to discharge below the water's surface, A third nozzle has been turned off in order to provide some temporary symmetry to the fountain's appearance.

The fountain will continue to operate with four nozzles until the parts to repair the damage are available.

Once the parts are available, the fountain will need to be removed from the water to perform the necessary repairs.

It is unknown if the housing for the unit has experienced any damage.

The City wishes to apologize for any inconvenience to the public during the time up until the fountain's repair.

Repairs to the fountain will be made as quickly as possible.

This is the second time the fountain has experienced difficulties. Shortly after its opening last year, technical difficulties caused the fountain to be shut off for a period of 10 days for repair.

The Millennium Fountain was a special project funded by Canadian Tire Sault Ste. Marie, PUC Inc., Province of Ontario - Mainstreet Ontario 2000 Program and City of Sault Ste. Marie.

The official opening of the fountain occurred last year just prior to the Canada day celebrations.

The fountain operates all day and night during the months of May through October.

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