Gov. Parris N. Glendening is about to pour cold water on Gov.-elect Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s plans for a ceremonial restarting of Comptroller William Donald Schaefer's cherished fountain at Government House.

With drought emergency restrictions eased, Glendening is having the fountain -- dry since the summer of 2001 -- turned on today or tomorrow.

Schaefer, who has savaged Glendening for turning the fountain off, was just as angry that the man he calls "Rabbit Brain" is turning it back on.

"It's another one of his dirty tricks," the former governor said.

Glendening spokesman Chuck Porcari said the Department of General Services will begin reactivating the fountain today -- two days after the governor announced that autumn rains had prompted him to modify water restrictions in Central Maryland.

Porcari said the fountain would be operated for a few days as a test.

"Now that the water restrictions have been lifted and the water situation statewide has improved dramatically since last summer, this symbolic gesture is no longer necessary," Porcari said.

He added that the fountain would be operated for a few days while temperatures are expected to remain above freezing. It will then be turned off again, he said, not for water conservation but because it normally does not run in winter.

The $169,500 artwork, a pet project of the late Hilda Mae Snoops when she was Schaefer's official hostess at the governor's mansion, has been a font of contention since Glendening ordered it shut off amid a worsening drought last year.

Schaefer lashed out at Glendening angrily and publicly -- accusing him at a Board of Public Works meeting in August last year of shutting off the fountain out of personal spite because of the comptroller's unceasing criticism. He accused Glendening of getting at him through the memory of the late Snoops, who died in 1999 at age 74.

"You hurt me through her. I'm really outraged," Schaefer told the governor.

The fountain would later become a factor in the disclosure of Glendening's romantic relationship with Jennifer Crawford, the deputy chief of staff who became his wife and bear his daughter.

Schaefer, still fuming weeks after his first confrontation with Glendening, told the governor at a board meeting later that month that he had written a letter to "the Big Boss" -- Crawford -- asking that the fountain be restarted.

The public reference to Crawford prompted the Washington Post, which had been holding a story about the relationship, to publish an article based on their reporters' surveillance of the couple.

The fountain -- which incorporates such Maryland icons as the blue heron, tobacco leaves, crabs, oysters, corn and terrapins -- would later become a mini-issue in this year's gubernatorial campaign.

Ehrlich and Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend -- competing for Schaefer's support -- both promised to turn on the fountain if elected.

As the election winner, Ehrlich was clearly expecting to welcome Schaefer shortly after the Jan. 15 inauguration for a turning-on ceremony at the governor's mansion.

Henry Fawell, a spokesman for the Ehrlich transition team, said the governor-elect would have no comment on Glendening's decision. Fawell said he didn't know how Glendening's decision would affect the Ehrlich camp's plans for a ceremonial restarting of the fountain. "I don't suspect that our thing has been ruled out," Fawell said.

Schaefer said yesterday that he was not surprised by Glendening's decision to turn on the fountain.

"He knew we were going to have an event to celebrate the turning-on of the fountain, but out of spite he's doing it this way -- just as he's done most things in his career," Schaefer said. "He amazed me at how petty he can be."

Impressions that decisions about the fountain had anything to do with Schaefer were "incorrect," Porcari said.

"This had everything to do with water conservation, and nothing to do with anything else," Porcari said.