Connecticut fountain shut down after it becomes $11 million public toilet



EW LONDON, Conn. – An $11 million fountain in a coastal Connecticut city has been shut down after several city residents reportedly turned it into a very public toilet.



The Whale Tail Fountain, located in Parade Plaza in New London, Conn. was only turned on last month. Created as a showpiece and point of pride in the “Whaling City,” residents and political figures are sickened and dismayed that so many people have been urinating, defecating and washing themselves in the water.



Last Thursday, the fire department was called to the plaza after a man fell down a set of stairs and suffered a head wound, bleeding into the fountain. On Friday, police had to stop a man from using it as a shower.



New London’s local newspaper, The Day, reported that City Councilor Michael Buscetto III is concerned about the water quality after so many reports of human waste entering the water stream.



By day, the fountain is used by city children to beat the heat, with a steady stream of water flowing from the bronze tail, which was created by sculptor Alan Cottrill. The Day reported that Buscetto attributes the fountain’s misuse to “frequent flyers,” an allusion to the city’s homeless population.



"It's two steps forward and three steps backward,” Buscetto said in a city council meeting this week. “There are people in the city who don't care, and they need to be dealt with.”



The city has pledged to test the water quality once a day when it is turned back on. Police are also planning on increasing patrols near the fountain and the adjacent Custom House Maritime Museum.