Awesome!!! I so wanted to do this where I used to live. For the people who were interviewed and had some problem with it.... It's DISH SOAP. Don't get ya panties in a wad. SMH, LOL.
If the pumps can handle alga they will be fine with dish soap, probably will be even better now that it's clean, it probably killed off the alga that slows the pumps down, and causes damage.
This is an over reaction. It's just soap, not vandalism. We used to do this to our fountain in NC. No city workers came out. No pumps were hurt. Your town needs to calm down. This shouldn't even be news.