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Mysterious dripping water, which caused mall ceilings to soften and destroyed drywall, was noticed soon after the Devonian Gardens reopened in 2012 — though it took three years to pinpoint the cause.

On Wednesday, Marter said the repair work, which is covered under warranty, is taking longer than expected because at least three or four more planters are dripping water and it’s tricky to determine exactly where the leaks are coming from.

“In Devonian, you have a sub floor kind of utility corridor where all the servicing runs through, and it’s not very big,” Marter said.

“In order to determine exactly which planters (are leaking) and where, we have to run cameras in there to be able to see it and that’s taking quite a bit of time.”

The gardens, which attracted international attention when it first opened in 1977, boasts a Koi pond, 550 trees and a playground, and while the entire area is closed, work crews are also doing life-cycle work, such as replacing lights and upgrading utilities, Marter said.

Photo by Lyle Aspinall / Lyle Aspinall/Postmedia Network

Area Coun. Druh Farrell said there’s a green space deficit in downtown Calgary and the prolonged closure of the popular indoor park isn’t helping.

“It’s frustrating,” Farrell said. “It’s a park that’s extremely well-used in the winter and this is a pretty harsh winter. We miss that park.”

Marter acknowledged the ongoing closure is an inconvenience, but said it’s important the leaks are resolved permanently so the garden doesn’t have to be shut again in the future.

“Obviously we’re not happy about the fact that it’s taking so long, but we want to make sure we get this right and that all the problems are solved before we release anybody from the project,” he said.

“We know it’s an inconvenience. We just ask the public to bear with us.”

AKlingbeil@postmedia.com