When it’s working, the multi-tiered cascading fountain at Meridian Hill Park is the longest of its kind in North America. But in recent years, it hasn’t been working all that frequently.

Now, after approximately a year of views of the empty concrete basin, there is water flowing once again, observers told Popville. The park, also known as Malcolm X Park, is maintained by the National Park Service as part of Rock Creek Park, and it has been designated as a National Historical Landmark. NPS has not responded to a request for comment.

The most recent issue with the fountains has been a leak in the pipe that supplies it with water, which National Park Service contractors discovered last August. As of October, 90 linear feet of cast iron pipes were replaced with a more durable material, but then, another pipe break was discovered. Repairs were put on hold at the time, due to dropping temperatures, and didn’t begin again until the spring.

But that’s just the latest of the problems with the fountain, which was built in 1932. It was turned off for about two months in 2016 due to a broken pump motor, and only stayed on for a few days before going dry yet again. The fountain’s propensity for parchedness is so well-known that nearby residents created a “neighborhood fountain watch” to tell NPS when the water ran dry, the Washington Post reported in 2017.

Now, the fountain is wet once more. But that doesn’t mean all is well. As one reader told Popville shortly after the water began pouring, “Short lived currently overflowing.”

Previously:
It May Be Summer Before Meridian Hill’s Cascading Fountain is Flowing Again
Why Don’t The Fountains At Meridian Hill Park Ever Seem To Be Working?