Lithia water fountain reopens in Ashland | Top Stories | kdrv.com

Rocky Walker is a reporter/producer at NewsWatch 12. You can reach Rocky at [email protected].

The historic Lithia water fountain in downtown Ashland recently reopened after being closed for months while the city and the Oregon Health Authority had discussions determining if the fountain is considered a public drinking system.

ASHLAND, Ore. – The historic Lithia water fountain in downtown Ashland recently reopened after being closed for months while officials debated its water quality.

The fountain was shut off out of an abundance of caution after the city shared water sample data with OHA and they considered the chemical contaminants inside to be unfit for public drinking system regulation.

OHA found higher than allowed levels of manganese, sodium, boron and barium, as well as a higher than allowed level of turbidity, or the cloudy quality of the water.

With its reopening to the public, many are celebrating its comeback.

“I don't think anyone could deal with drinking it consistently,” said Pilar Fredrackson, someone who grew up in the area. “I think trying it once in your life is probably not going to hurt you. And I think it's more important that we have it for people to experience then take it away.”

It is currently reopened in the midst of an assessment by OHA and the city to determine whether it is being used as a historic landmark or as a drinking source.

“I think a lot of people have been waiting for it to reopen for a long time,” Said Drake Wier an Ashland resident, “And I'm sure it's been around for much longer than I can remember, but I'm very stoked that it's back open.”

While it is currently running the assessment of how many people use it will dictate what it is classified as

The requirement for it to be a public drinking system, or true form of public drinking water supply, is if more than 10 people drink the water from the fountain more than 60 days out of the year.

If it meets that criteria then it will be considered for public drinking use and will need to meet the standards set for public drinking systems.

Many residents are not concerned about this, saying the waters flavor proves it to not be a source of drinking water.

Rocky Walker is a reporter/producer at NewsWatch 12. You can reach Rocky at [email protected].