Post restoration, the historic fountains in Garfield Park have been operational since April 30, 2026. While exciting to see the dancing water and colorful lights return to Garfield Park, the Friends are still learning A TON about how the completely new fountain system actually works.
The Friends responsibility for on-going maintenance of the fountains costs $40,000 per year. Together with Indy Parks the strainer baskets in each basin are emptied daily. This protects the pumps from leaves, bugs, etc. from traveling into the systems located in the vault.
In the underground vault, our contractor is on-site weekly for chemical testing, quality control, regular maintenance and on-going health checks, too. This investment in the fountain operational health is why raising the $1,000,000 preservation fund is so critical.
The Friends can’t do it alone, and it takes a village. Raising money while learning how the fountains operate are two VERY critical steps to understand the fountain’s new normal! If you can donate to support the fountain preservation fund, do so securely online today.
Additionally, a huge thank you to the passionate neighbors who are already sending photos, videos and providing insights into what they are seeing on a daily basis in the Sunken Garden! A combination of human observation and monitoring from the Friends & our vendor is so important during this first year of operation. If you see something with the fountains you think is off, please complete this form to alert the Friends and our maintenance team.
All that context to say, the fountain project team met with our contractors on Friday, August 14th for a mid-season fountain “health check.”
Here’s what has been uncovered:
The fountains are controlled by units called a variable frequency drive (VFD) which are connected to the electrical panels, animation controls and water pumps. There are 13 VFDs in total, all located in the underground vault. VFD2 has power from the breaker, but it is non-operational and being replaced (under warranty) by the manufacturer.
VFD8 & VFD11 also have power, but there is a short-circuit between the power source and the animation controls. At this time, we do not think these units need to be completely replaced by the manufacturer, but it’s not off the table yet.
Additionally, in the photo above (thank you Jeff McGuire), notice the south fountain center spray nozzle is not operable and north fountain “spurts” higher than the other functioning nozzle sprayers.
This north fountain anomaly is caused by a wake in the basin that allows air to be ingested into the nozzle causing the spattering. There are preventative measures the Friends can take to encircle the nozzle and avoid the waves, but haven’t taken that preventative measure yet. The south fountain basin nozzle could be attributed to VFD8 & 11, which the team is working now to better understand.
At the recommendation of our vendor, we have eliminated this vertical spray nozzle show from the 16-different animation patterns available. The idea is to isolate the nozzle function to see if that is the cause of the north basin’s wake acting out of character. This is just a control test, not a permanent solution!
Lastly, the Friends asked the dancing water shows be set to a 5-minute cycle pattern vs. 15-minutes. Hopefully you’ve will notice the animations changing more frequently during viewing.
Are the fountains working? Yes. Are we still learning about the system? Yes. Is it perfect? No. Will the Friends remain vigilant and preserve this historic park asset? 100%
The Friends want to say thank you to all the dedicated neighbors (Cheryl Dillenback, Karen Barten, Jeff McGuire, Sarah Austin and Russ Clemens) and community members who are helping to keep an eye on fountain operations. To report an incident, please complete this form.
Ps. the Friends are still advocating for extended Sunken Garden hours, too. Having the gates open as much as possible is important to us, but we do not staff the park or determine hours of operation.