University fountains will be momentarily brought back to operation beginning June 1 in preparation for Commencement, according to the Stanford News Service.

The fountains will be opened slowly, beginning with Tanner Fountain in front of Memorial Auditorium and the Serra Fountain in front of Hewlett Teaching Center on June 1. On June 4, the Claw and White Memorial Fountain in White Plaza will be running water.

All fountains are expected to be operating by June 9. However, after Commencement weekend on June 15, all 18 affected fountains will be shut down. Fountains on campus that are overseen by Residential & Dining Enterprises will remain shut off.

“I think we all realized during the past year that a traditional celebration like Commencement is enhanced by having the fountains on,” Jack Cleary, associate vice president of Land, Buildings & Real Estate, told the Stanford News Service. “The fountains make our campus even more beautiful, and we know that makes a big difference for graduates and their families during a very special time in their lives.”

According Cleary, the fountains will collectively require about 60,000 gallons of water to open. Upon shut down of the fountains after Commencement Weekend, this water will be stored and reused through the summer for tree irrigation.

The reopening of the fountains will also concurrently allow grounds crew to perform maintenance on fountains, in particular leak detection.

All 21 University fountains have been closed for over a year as part of Stanford’s efforts to cut water use. Although Stanford was not mandated to turn its fountains off, the University choose to reduce water use from non-essential uses, such as in running fountains.

Contact Catherine Zaw at czaw13 ‘at’ stanford.edu.