Where Did Rising Sun's Willow Tree Fountain Go?

By Mike Perleberg The willow tree fountain at the Rising Sun riverfront pavilion has been removed for repairs, according to the city. File photo. (Rising Sun, Ind.) - Love it or hate it, the City of Rising Sun’s riverfront willow tree fountain is gone – but perhaps not forever. The unique fountain, which has not been working, has been the subject of much debate among the locals over the year. Some call it unsightly. Others view it as a beautiful work of public art. The city said Monday that the tree has been moved to the city garage so that it can be looked at to find the issues that are preventing it from working properly. Rising Sun officials have issued a statement saying that speculation that the fountain disassembly is a precursor to its permanent removal “has no merit and is simply not true.” “The city appreciates and respects the various viewpoints regarding the fountain and realizes there is not one answer which will make everyone happy.  Please understand the fountain is part of our community and our first option has been always been to repair it,” the city statement read. Meanwhile, repairs to the willow fountain could take up to three months due to its complexity. “Our goal upon disassembly and relocation to our street department garage, was to mitigate the lime build up by changing the copper tubing out with pvc piping which, in conjunction with water softening agents, would greatly reduce lime buildup and be easier to maintain. Unfortunately, the builder of the fountain made the copper piping part of the fountain's skeleton and physical structure, not a separate internal element to simply provide water flow. Thus, there is no way to remove the piping,” the city stated. Rising Sun is consulting with other municipalities to see how similar fountains have been repaired. The city is looking for a viable and economically feasible solution instead of using a band-aid approach.