The Captain Cook Memorial Jet has hit further setbacks, with the National Capital Authority now faced with the news that asbestos encases the high-voltage cables and the substation connection is out of date.
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The new problems will add still more costs to the $2.7 million already spent on refurbishing the two pumps and other work after breakdowns early last year that have seen the fountain dormant since June 2015.
The pumps are back in place, with new switchboards and an upgrade of ventilation and air-conditioning, and chief executive Malcolm Snow said the authority would decide in the next couple of weeks on the next step.
"It's take a deep breath and keep going," he said on Wednesday. "We are fully committed to it operating again."
The agency was getting advice from asbestos specialists about the high-voltage cables, which were coated in bonded asbestos. It was safe, contained within a conduit deep underground, but the agency was now deciding whether to replace it, or perhaps run a new cable through the same conduit.
The substation transformer at Regatta Point was outdated, and the high-voltage cables could not be connected without upgrades. The authority wanted ActewAGL to share the cost of the substation upgrade and was negotiating with ActewAGL, he said.
"It's their substation. It's they who supply the power and we pay for their power. So there will have to be a negotiation. That's all I can say at this stage."
But ActewAGL said it did not own the transformer. "[The NCA] has engaged a contractor to replace their transformer as it's not an ActewAGL asset," a spokesman said.
Mr Snow expected a deal with ActewAGL, a decision on the new cabling, and costs within weeks.
It was "a complex piece of equipment and 50-year-old infrastructure", he said. "As a result, the parameters of the design are constantly changing as we delve deeper into the works."
He hoped the jet would be working again "at best" in the second half of this year. It was the first major overhaul in 20 years and once working again it was expected to have another 20-year life.
"We want to do a thorough job, we don't want to find ourselves in a situation in another year's time where some other element fails," Mr Snow said.
The fountain's pump failed a year ago, in February 2015. It was operating again in May, but failed in June and it has been out of action since.
The fountain has been operating on one pump for some years, with the result that it shoots water 110 metres in the air, instead of the 147-metre height reached with two pumps. The authority is looking to operate both jets at once when the fountain is working again, and is considering other options, such as lighting.
With both pumps operating, the fountain pushes six tonnes of water into the air at a time, at a cost of $910 an hour. One pump costs $590 an hour to operate.
The fountain was built to commemorate the bicentenary of Captain James Cook's discovery of the east coast of Australia and was opened by the Queen in 1970.
It broke down in 1995, when it was out of action for 10 months, costing about $100,000 to restore.
Mr Snow said the authority was determined to get the jet back in action.
"There's no question of it not operating again ... The very fact that we've had so many inquiries from the Canberra community about when the jet will reopen and restart again is evidence of the fact that people have the jet in their hearts."
