Sound Stage

Filling small courtyards and other compact spaces with the sounds of moving water is a valued service watershapers often perform for clients these days.

A frequent approach in these cases involves installation of wall-mounted fountains in which water issues from a source set toward the top of the fixture and drops into a small basin from which the water is drawn and recirculated by a small pump mounted within or behind the feature.

The drawback with these wonderful off-the-shelf fixtures is their lack any surge capacity in what is by nature a small water-in-transit system. As they arrive from the vendor, there’s usually just an in-line relationship between the basin and the spout, meaning the basin represents the feature’s total reservoir and will need refilling almost daily to make up for splash or any evaporative losses.

There is an alternative, as the video linked below demonstrates. In this case, we had the privilege of working with an antique fountain and were left to invent its water supply and circulation systems from scratch. It didn’t take a lot of time, effort or expense to assemble a complete, ultra-low-maintenance system that included ample surge capacity, an auto-fill device and a structure substantial enough to take pump noise down to an absolute minimum.

Check it out by clicking here.

Randy Beard operates Pure Water Pools, a construction/service firm based in Costa Mesa, Calif. He may be reached at [email protected].