As one of the administrators of the list, I have been getting the messages about the fountain, and have only put some of them thru. Many of them have the same (or similar comments) so I did not send all of them out.

In reference to Eliza, who first brought this issue up, and her last posting which referred to negative comments. I have seen several comments that went to both her and the email list (which I did not put thru) that were ignorant and/or insulting. I assume she may have received others that did not get copied to the list. I did not put these thru since I felt they were not appropriate for the list. So even though the list may not have seen them, Eliza did get some nasty emails, and I understand her frustration with this.

I received comments from both Mike Gable, Deputy Director of Public Works for the City, and Phil Gruszka, Director of Parks Management and Maintenance Policies for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, concerning the fountain and reflecting pool. Both of them stated that the fountain and reflecting pool are for aesthetic purposes and were not intended to be used as a pool for humans or animals.

The reflecting pool is not supposed to be used for cooling off, bathing or swimming. But it is hard to resist the temptation to use it for that. The police have more important things to do than watch the fountain, but if destructive activities are occurring, we should call 911. Even shallow water is dangerous and can cause drowning, but if there is supervision then no one should get hurt. If you are concerned about this issue, you should call 311 and give your comments.