Two unidentified suspects ended 2023 with a bang by pouring soap into the Harding Centennial Plaza fountain Dec. 30.

Nelson Landers, assistant director of facilities, noticed the fountain was soaped early that morning, and reported it to UCAPD. 

“When we find the fountain soaped, there will be a layer of soap on top of the water you could see,” Landers said. “The fountain is then turned off and at a later time we drain the fountain and we try to get all of the soap out of the pipes.”

According to the UCAPD incident report, camera footage showed a white male pulling something out of his pocket and pouring it into the fountain at 5:56 a.m.

A few moments later at 5:59 a.m., another individual appears and they both pour soap into the water; one individual was recording the event with their phone. 

The report states the two individuals, suspected to be a man and a woman, got into a black or blue Dodge Challenger or Ford Mustang. However, no identifications have been made and there are no leads; the case is currently inactive.

Michael Hopper, the public information officer for UCAPD, said the charge for pouring soap into the fountain is criminal mischief.

“The severity of the damage would determine if the act was a misdemeanor or felony. The statute looks at intent as well as monetary value,” Hopper said. “If a person is caught in the act, generally a warrantless arrest can be made, however after the fact, as this is, an arrest warrant would be issued by a judge.”

Hopper said this isn’t the first time someone has poured soap into the fountain.

“This happens maybe a couple of times a year, but that may be overestimating,” he said. “It was far more frequent when it was first built. As I understand it, the soap can cause damage to the pumps.  There is also the matter of the clean-up and costs associated with that and manpower.”

Kevin Carter, associate vice president of facilities, agreed that the fountain usually gets soaped two to three times a year. 

“The fountain has to be drained, cleaned and refilled. It can also cause damage to the pumps,” Carter said. “This usually costs around $800 to $1,000.”

As previously reported in The Echo, soaping usually happens around graduation time. The fountain was out of service for some of fall 2023 because of a broken motor in the pump, and its replacement was on back-order. The new pump cost approximately $13,200.

As of Jan. 17, Carter said that luckily, the physical plant has yet to find damage on the new pump.