Walking past Drumheller Fountain, it’s clear that the fountain has seen better days. Algae has accumulated along the sides, feathers float on the surface, and, sometimes, people seem to mistake it for a trash can.

But UW senior Michael French wants to change that. Along with his research group from the mechanical-engineering department, which is comprised of seniors Scott Bissell, Joseph Jonathan, and Luke Murchison, he plans to test the fountain for compatibility with a filtration system. A feasibility report for the system will be produced by the end of this quarter, and, if it checks out, the group hopes to start on improvements and design the system during spring quarter.

French first had the idea while in a technical writing class.

“Like most ideas, it came out of necessity,” he said. “We had to come up with some sort of proposal, and it was supposed to be centered on the UW campus. So I was walking by the fountain, and it looked like an engineering problem to me.”

The problem, he said, was the overall dingy appearance of the fountain.

“It has a lot of algae growing in it right now,” he said. “But hopefully, [the filtration system] is going to make it a lot better looking.”

This week, the group is working on determining the nature of the algae, which has grown due to the plastic covering put inside the pond in order to prevent water from seeping out of the concrete. Though the covering was painted to match the concrete, the algae growing on it has counteracted that attempt.

“We’re trying to determine how fast the algae is growing,” French said. “From that, we can sort of figure out how fast we need to remove it. And in the end, if we can get that at a steady state, then it’ll stay clean year-round without having to empty it out.”

Another big goal of the group is making the project economically viable for the university. French said Ken Rogers, the facilities supervisor at the UW, has told him that there have been plans laid out to revamp the fountain, but the projects die at a certain point due to funding issues. The group hopes to get past that roadblock by brainstorming cheaper methods.

“I think that fountain right now is using $55 of energy a day when it’s on,” said Bissell, who is using this as his senior project, or Capstone, before he graduates in March. “And that’s just not in line with the university sustainability goal.”

In order to reduce this cost, the group is considering environmental options, such as using solar panels, wind power, or tidal power. Though chlorine would eradicate the algae problem, French said it would be bad for the birds as well as pungent for students walking by. However, the main goal is to improve its appearance.

“I think it’s important, because it’s such an icon of our campus,” French said. “It’s a historical thing, and I think that the way it’s existing now is not really doing the monument justice.”

Bissell agrees.

“When people are at UW, they think about the fountain and Mount Rainier,” he said. “I think it’s good for our university: The fountain is a big landmark.”

Reach reporter Kristen Steenbeeke at news@dailyuw.com.