i Alhe Battalion ?STATE & LOCAL "^Tuesday, May 1,1990 3 fit ant > we ampus water fountains in need of repairs Student abuse, weather and construction cause yearly damages ere . BySEANFRERKING 8 f)f The Battalion Staff id 1 poc nai ; [ Water fountains around the [Texas A&M campus have run dry because of damage sustained fthroughout the year by weather, [construction and students. Joe Conway, building construc- l S‘^ tion superintendent, said the foun- |fain in front of the Chemistry Build ing and the water work located near [Legett Hall are subject to much pbuse. P He said student activities and or weather often force mainte- ance crews to repair the fountains. —’ Tony Lapaglia, area maintenance °re foreman, said the Chemistry Build- iltyin'sing fountain was damaged during tffair s last y ear s Elephant Walk. f ace( j[ Lapaglia said the number of stu- Idents jumping in the fountains Icaused some minor damage. R “They (students) knocked off he S ome bricks near the top of the . The fountain,†Lapaglia said. “They that broke some of the sprinklers in the tn^jpool area too.†m i He said the maintenance crews in- nf ftend to repair the broken plumbing. I They also are planning to sand- tons blast and replace the broken bricks womein the fountain area, he said. With e |he repairs, the fountain soon en lr should be running. 1 to til Conway and Lapaglia said . |hey do not know the cost of the re- 1131 iiairs to the fountain. Both said, en > Inowever, no actions are planned to f- Ijirevent further damage during fu- abel ture Elephant Walks. rvevf . Lapaglia said the fountain near ofa ^ e 8 ett bfaH- known as the Fish Pond, , jflso needs extensive cleaning after thOU»iephant Walk. I "The fountain in Fish Pond gets e. Th; really dirty, but it just needs a good use cleaning afterwards,†Lapaglia said, liased sa ^ t ^ ie F‘ s fi Pond fountain )W f ar jonly runs during football season be- lause the lack of students and activ- . ora J'lti e s during spring or summer se- ink tbjnesters doesn’t merit the fountain’s 1 1-80'bse. , dialr ; The fountain is drained and f you i; c ' eane d on the Friday before every : comb Photo by Scott D. Weaver Nellie Pittman, an employee for Texas A&M’s ground maintenance department, cleans up around the chemistry fountain. home game, and the tradition of throwing yell leaders into the pond after a victory doesn’t harm the fountain, he said. Conway said the fountain near the MSC usually doesn’t need much maintenance and will be turned on when the MSC expansion is finished. The fountains near the Chemistry Building, Legett Hall and the MSC are cleaned and maintained by A&M maintenance crews. The remaining fountain on cam pus is the Hansen Memorial Foun tain in front of the Clayton Williams Alumni Center. The fountain’s custodial mainte nance is funded by the center’s gen eral building fund. Ray Martin, the center’s facility manager, said a mechanical engi neering student acts as an indepen dent contractor and cleans the foun tain as well as the Texas A&M seal, which was a gift from the Class of ’50. Alternative landscaping saves water By DON HERMON Special to the Battalion After dry summers of (wither ing landscape and increased wa ter bills, many are trying Xeris- caping as an alternative to traditional landscaping. Dr. Doug Welsh, an extension horticulturist, said Xeriscaping is a quality, environmentally safe, low-maintenance landscape. Welsh said water conservation is the main benefit of Xeriscap ing. “In urban areas, between 40 and 60 percent of water used is for landscaping,†Welsh, presi dent of the National Xeriscape Council Inc., said. “(This) sur passes the amount for human consumption.†Welsh said using effective and efficient watering methods can save 10 to 30 percent on the aver age homeowner’s water bill. “Soil acts like a bank for wa ter,†Welsh said. “Plants draw wa ter out of the soil at different rates depending on the type of plant.†For example, he said, a pecan tree can absorb 120 gallons of wa ter a day if available. “Water-efficient landscapes don’t have to be cactus and rock gardens,†Welsh said. “They can be cool landscapes full of beauti ful, water-efficient plants.†Larry Schueckler, operations manager at Contemporary Land scape Services and Nursery Inc., said the business just started us ing Xeriscaping in some projects. “Lots of people are asking (about Xeriscaping) for econom ics, not wanting high water bills,†Schueckler, a landscape architect, said. 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