Kent tries to keep water fountain going at Town Square Plaza

The Town Square Plaza water fountain in Kent has kept kids cool and entertained for 15 years.

But with that age has come operating trials and regular shutdowns of the popular fountain at the city park, 426 W. Smith St.

“The Town Square Plaza water fountain presents a complex challenge we struggle with annually,” City Parks Director Julie Parascondola said in an email. “Originally built and installed with the park back in 2009, the fountain is now 15 years old, obsolete, and past its functional lifecycle, making it very difficult to find and source parts.”

City Parks maintenance personnel do what they can to keep the fountain going.

“Our talented maintenance staff have worked tirelessly each year to repair it and keep it mostly functional for our residents because we understand how important access to water is to our community,” Parascondola said. “Due to its many mechanical and other issues, Kent Parks has to manually operate and monitor, requiring maintenance staff to stay on site the entire time it’s operating, to ensure we are keeping up with chemicals and water quality regulations, which strains service levels elsewhere.”

City Parks announced July 22 that fountain will operate noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday until the end of August, but be closed on Monday.

“We were able to get it functional for now and it is operating,” Parascondola said. “However, we encourage the community to check our website and/or Kent Parks social media pages before heading down with swimsuits and the family, just to verify it didn’t break down again.”

And if staff shuts down the fountain, they will work to get it back up as soon as possible.

“Rest assured, staff is continuing to work on solutions to ensure we can continue to operate this feature,” Parascondola said.

Spray ground coming

City Parks staff plan to open Kent’s first spray ground or splash park in 2026 at the downtown Uplands Playfield, 836 W. Smith St.

“We have been working behind the scenes for a while now on a new and better alternative for our residents, and I’m thrilled to share that we are actively planning Kent’s first water spray ground,” Parascondola said.

Parks staff planning team recently kicked off public engagement for this project. Residents may visit engagekentparks.com platform and share their opinions on what they want to see at the new spray ground.

“Most of 2025 will be dedicated to design and permitting, which goes through an extensive process with King County Public Health due to water quality and other important regulations,” Parascondola said. “Barring any unforeseen issues, we hope to break ground on the new spray ground in 2026.”