14 March 2009

The jet she is kaput

| johnboy
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[First filed: March 07, 2009 @ 09:30]

Yesterday the National Capital Authority proudly announced they were extending the opening hours of the Captain Cook Memorial Jet for Canberra Day.

That announcement has now been consigned to digital oblivion and instead the world leaders in foot-in-mouth are advising that the jet is buggered.

    “The Captain Cook Memorial Jet is currently out of operation due to a fault with an electronic value.

    The jet will undergo repairs and is anticipated to be back in operation on Friday 13 March 2009.”

Tricky things those faults with an electronic value.

UPDATED: The NCA now reports that having repaired the “electronic valve” they’ve since found other issues and it’s broken “until further notice”.

Brilliant.

But at least it lives on with Google Maps:


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Never was a big fan of Jimmy’s massive ejaculation inside Burley.

Only in Canberra. From the NCA press release…”while repairing the electronic valve that faulted last week, additional mechanical issues were identified.

The story so far…

(1) Good news press release ‘Extended hours for Captain Cook Memorial Jet.’

(2) Scratch that. Bad news press release. ‘Reduced hours (nil) for Captain Cook Memorial Jet’, due to ‘faulty value’.
Add typo in press release to emphasise our incompetence.

(3) Scratch that. Further bad news press release. ‘On looking into the problem, further ‘faulting’ has been identified.’
Mangle the English language in press release to destroy any remaining credibility .

If this lot owned a real jet, I wouldn’t fly in it.

old canberran5:14 pm 13 Mar 09

There isn’t much water travelling in the Molonglo these days, and so the water in the lake is kept at its current level from water released from Googong Dam, as well as the treated water from Queanbeyan sewage treatment plant. Its Queanbeyan’s revenge on us.

That’s probably a good enough reason to have the jet turned off. It wouldn’t do to have Queanbeyan waste water sprayed all over Commonwealth Bridge and the users thereof.

Some 50 or so years ago there was a huge flood in Queanbeyan and their cemetary which was quite close to the river went underwater and……….

old canberran said :

It’s not really. The Molonglo does not provide any domestic water for the city. The Cotter Dam is on the Cotter River as are Corrin and Bendora dams. The Cotter flows into the Murrumbidges at the Cotter as does the Molonglo. Googong Dam is on the Queanbeyan River and it flows into the Molonglo.

There isn’t much water travelling in the Molonglo these days, and so the water in the lake is kept at its current level from water released from Googong Dam, as well as the treated water from Queanbeyan sewage treatment plant. Its Queanbeyan’s revenge on us.

Hells_Bells742:11 pm 13 Mar 09

See the whole thing confuses most. In reference to my drought comments at stage two, three and four restrictions you must turn off fountains that don’t use recycled water. You may not refill any that don’t use recycled water and on the higher level restrictions you may only if you are sustaining fish and bird life. Of course there are exemptions and such. I remember them bringing the fountains all round Canberra to a standstill. I really don’t recall if they stopped the big one but it didn’t matter, it was on and off like a yoyo or barely on at all well before the big drought.

I know it wouldn’t come from the mains water supply, it was a sarcastic nature I was attaining to as who really knows what goes on, cause I just found it funny our beautiful waterjet turned into a pawn or mismanaged and reminds me of having to tell the kids when picking up their dad at the restaurant frequently why the jet wasn’t on yet again and I could never come up with anything decent to tell them and you don’t get anything straight on any media channel (what a joke).

So that’s how it lost it’s magic and if up to me I would run the damn thing constant, with a light under it at night.

Maybe now someone will get to clear out the tunnel!

old canberran1:48 pm 13 Mar 09

It’s not really. The Molonglo does not provide any domestic water for the city. The Cotter Dam is on the Cotter River as are Corrin and Bendora dams. The Cotter flows into the Murrumbidges at the Cotter as does the Molonglo. Googong Dam is on the Queanbeyan River and it flows into the Molonglo.

Yeah,
but i was just saying that although its not treated potable water, the water in the lake is still from our water supply.

willo: No, LBG is on the Molonglo, which is a tributary of the Murrumbidgee.

Isn’t that what my last sentence says?

googong dam? I thought the lake was filled from the murrumbidgee river….isn’t it?

Caf,
The water used to keep Lake Burley Griffin full comes from Googong dam, so although not in the catchment, the water in the lake is from our water supply.

I don’t think the fountain will ever lose its magic for me. It still get a little thrill when I see it.

The water definitely isn’t coming from the mains. At the rate it flows it would be equivalent to about a third of our total consumption for the whole city.

And Lake Burley Griffin / Molonglo River are certainly not in the catchment for any of our water storage dams. The Molonglo joins the Murrumbidgee near the water treatment plant at the end of Stockdill Dr, and the Cotter River (on which sits Corin, Bendora and Cotter dams) also flows into the Murrumbidgee. Googong Dam is upstream of Lake Burley Griffin, on the Queanbeyan River.

Hells_Bells7411:26 am 09 Mar 09

Mains water in fountains mmmm… Sounds about right considering they pull fountains in times of drought which left me shaking my head about the one in the centre of a huge lake of water. Or was it just a multitude of regulations/faults/restrictions/water quality/propaganda that see it turned off at all the times you would want it on. It lost it’s magic for me in the nineties when my ex hubby worked at Regatta Point restaurant and you watched it go down to an hour a day for some time and the Japanese tourists huddled.

*Puts on stickler hat*

My understanding is that the design of the main nozzle is the same as the Jet D’Eau in Geneva, Switzerland. The city of Geneva allowed the same design to be used after high-level diplomatic negotiations.

So possibly unique in the sense of being the only one modelled on the Jet D’Eau?

But wait, there was also New York City’s Delacorte Fountain (busted and never repaired after 1987 because of hepatitis fears) and Pittsburg’s Point Fountain based on the same design principles (except for the water being drawn from an underground glacial river!) and having more than one squirter.

Perhaps we should think carefully about the water quality issues that killed off the Delacorte Fountain . . .

old canberran9:43 pm 08 Mar 09

poptop said :

Except for the Geneva Water Fountain

It was that jet which gave the planners the idea for one for LBG but there are quite a few differences in the design and operation of ours. It is still unique irrespective of the one in Geneva. Thanks for the link.

yeah, orright poptop, apart from the geneva water fountain, it’s pretty unique… ; )

classic, granny @ #15 – laughted til i stopped (and at bob downe’s line, too..! ta, pb)

really, though, i am a bit of a fan of the jet; s’brilliant – we’ve a parliament house what is an upside down hills hoist, with a verandah and a front porch, and a bubbler in the lake at the bottom of the garden. and people wonder why you like canberra.

old canberran6:30 pm 08 Mar 09

It is nice to know that it was designed by a Canberra resident which sort of makes it home grown. It is quite unique.

to be fair, i can understand the water jet breaking. It’s forcing out 500L/s so it’s not exactly a garden hose timer.

I love Canberra’s waterways. I particularly like the ways the swans have set up home in the middle of the pond. I do fear, however, for the signets negotiating traffic back to the lake once they hatch.

The pond actually hasn’t been cleaned for a while – a swan has set up nest in the middle of it, and the cleaning barges would disturb the nest – hence no cleaning.

The cat did it said :

It’s a settling pond, and it’s designed to trap all manner of trash and contaminants, before they can enter the lake. If it looks like sh*t, then it’s probably doing its job.

Just because it is a settling pond doesn’t mean it has to look so unsettling to everyone who passes it by – visitors and residents alike!

If it is designed to have lots of rubbish bobbing up and down in it, then you would think the area around it would have been vegetated so as to shield the unsightly view. No, I think there is something else not quite working here about this pond. The other pond nearby, with fountains in it, near Rond Terrace, always seems pretty good to me.

Wasn’t there something about the Queen opening it incorrectly back in 1970 – she pulled something when she should have pushed or whatever? What if the jigger got stuffed? Or the value?

This is another fine mess she’s gotten us into, Stanley!

Well may we say, “God save the Queen,” ’cause nothing will save the Captain Cook fountain!

PalmerstonPop3:50 pm 07 Mar 09

“THE JET SHE IS KAPUT” – I tend to believe a story I heard a couple of years ago about the Captain Cook water spout – that is does not in fact have water pumped from Lake Burley-Griffin – but in fact is hooked directly up to a domestic water main and the pressure is increased by electric pump – even with water restrictions the water from the mains goes back into our water catchment over the Scriviner Dam spillway and into the Cotter? – ever notice when Lake Burley-Griffin is dirty brown from flood rains (long time ago///) and the spout is spirting away and a strong easterly wind is blowing and your are driving over Commonwealth Bridge. The water on your windscreen and duco is very clear and it should in fact be mirky brown and streaky?????

The cat did it3:40 pm 07 Mar 09

It’s a settling pond, and it’s designed to trap all manner of trash and contaminants, before they can enter the lake. If it looks like sh*t, then it’s probably doing its job.

nanzan said :

Then there’s the disgusting state of the pond at the intersection of Parkes Way and Coranderrk Strett – that really is a city’s disgrace.

I thought that pond performed a cleaning function for the lake hence why it always has crap in it which they clean out with special boats once a year. I noticed the other day a couple of swans building nests in it.

Tricky things those faults with an electronic value…

Perhaps the Stanhope government is meddling with Planck’s constant?

Gungahlin Al12:53 pm 07 Mar 09

due to a fault with an electronic value

Oh right – so the NCA’s hopping on the blame the Feed-in Tariff bandwagon is it?

proofpositive12:34 pm 07 Mar 09

recession…

Perhaps the jet has spent too much time exposed to algae and it has developed some sort of infection.

On the subject of algae in the lake, why hasn’t a biodiesel operation been set up yet? Algae biodiesel would help keep aussie dollars in Australia, especially important when our exports are down in trying economic times 😛

Perhaps the jet is psychically attuned to one of our leaders …

Pommy bastard11:13 am 07 Mar 09

When we saw Bob Downe at Canberra theatre some years ago his opening line was “You’ve still not got that broken pipe fixed then.”

Or maybe it really is an electronic value – someone set it to “off” rather than “on”…

Someone’s hacked the water jet!

Perhaps an electronic valve.

Captain Cook Jet was running on Thursday arvo.. wonder what the issue is

Thank God the National Capital Authority and the Australian Government are not running Rome, or any other great city with a lot more fountains than Canberra – they’d be stuffed!

The NCA seems to have that much trouble keeping its fountains and ponds going – it’s almost a joke.

The Centenary of Federation Fountains in Parkes are constantly out of action and the ponds are always being drained and re-filled.

Then there’s the disgusting state of the pond at the intersection of Parkes Way and Coranderrk Strett – that really is a city’s disgrace.

And the water jet has only just been turned back on in the past fortnight after being put out of action by the algal blooms. I wonder how often the world’s really big water jets in places like Geneva and Jedda get turned off?

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