Water from the iconic Captain Cook Memorial Jet can finally be seen spraying onto Lake Burley Griffin after being absent for nearly two years.
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But Canberrans should not hold their breath about the trouble-plagued jet returning to full service just yet, with the National Capital Authority only testing the new pump, which could yet run into more trouble.
On Thursday, the NCA began the commissioning stage of the repair works, which also includes testing underground infrastructure such as mechanical, hydraulic and electrical systems and equipment.
An NCA spokeswoman said the testing could take "several weeks" and expected the jet to be permanently working by the end of the year.
But she said "it is too early to tell if there are any areas that may need addressing" that could push the completion date back.
The testing of the newly refurbished jet pumps in the pump-station and the jet nozzle housing will happen intermittently between 9am and 5pm on weekdays and at varying heights.
The fountain's pump failed in February 2015. It was operating again in May, but failed in June and had been out of action since, with the repairs facing several hiccups.
In April, the jet hit a major setback when the NCA discovered that asbestos encased the high-voltage cables and the substation connection was out of date.
The NCA decided to abandon asbestos-encased cabling and hire a specialist diver to lay new cabling, which added more than $50,000 onto the $2.7 million repair job.
When the cabling was installed in August, NCA Chief Executive Malcolm Snow said he expected the jet to be fully operational by October.
But on Thursday a spokeswoman said works were delayed further due to the September floods which caused the lake to close for several weeks.
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.
