Is it possible to have a water feature that is simple to install, operate and maintain?

YES, with proper design, choice of materials and installation techniques.

Over the past few years we have had an interesting perspective on what has been happening in the industry. We have spoken to people who have hired a landscape contractor or landscape architect to design and install a water feature for them that has brought them hours of enjoyment, and then there are some who have another story to tell which is usually long and quite painful to hear and they speak about their water feature more as a nightmare that leaves them totally disillusioned with the idea of a fountain or pond. The main difference in the project’s success or apparent failure is in the selection of equipment or in lack of planning or design. In some cases the problems are simple to remedy, and in other cases, it is very difficult to solve without a major expense. The problem could be awkward plumbing, or lack of foresight in how to maintain the pool for plants or fish or weekly cleaning, or a dissatisfaction with the quality of the liner or pump or filtering system.

Right now the availability of fountain equipment and water gardening supplies is better than ever which should make the designing and maintaining of a pond simple. Now all we have to do is keep up with what’s available and use discrimination choosing only the best quality products for the job. It is always better to have people talking about how great the pond works years later than to hear about how upset they are because the pump died or the water just was never clean or the liner fell apart and what a mess, even though we spent all this money it just didn’t work.

To practically and realistically discuss water features in a garden, it seems easiest to approach this subject through the illustration of 2 popular styles of water features.

1. A Waterfall Into a Water Garden Pond
2. A Series of Cascading Reflecting Pools

1. Waterfall Into A Water Garden Pond

The client has requested a natural waterfall just off the back patio. They would like a nice trickling sound and a few waterplants. The measurements for this area are about 8′ x 5′ and a 3′ high waterfall.

The Pond

• The pond is dug allowing 18″ of depth for growing waterlilies and/or an area 3′ deep to overwinter them(NOTE- care must be taken as there are bylaws that state that a body of water 19″ deep is not a fountain but a swimming pool and so must be fenced, do check the bylaws before digging too deep).
• A shelf which is 12″ deep is also included in the design to allow for shallow growing plants such as Iris, Rushes, Marsh marigold etc.
• Water plants are easiest to maintain and install in pots.
• The earth that is removed from the pond can be used for fill underneath the waterfall.
• A 2-4″ layer of sand is installed in the base of the pond to protect the liner from sharp rocks that work their way up through the ground and for shaping the pond floor. Filter cloth is cut and laid against the pond walls to protect the underside of the liner. To ensure that the waterfall doesn’t shift especially with the spring thaw and heaving, the rocks should be set on a foundation bed of compacted gravel.
• A P.V.C. liner is chosen for the pond and waterfall, due to its flexibility in design application and ease of installation as well as budget restraints.
• The liner is measured for the pond by calculating an extra 1-1.5′ of liner around the entire top edge of the pond. This will be the extra needed to allow for the folds that are necessary when forming curves in the pond wall, and it gives something to set the edging onto so the liner can’t slip back into the pond. The liner width = (depth x 2) + width + (1.5′x 2)and liner length = (depth x 2) + length + (1.5 x 2). In this example, the liner would measure about 13′ x 16′, and we recommend at least a 40 mil thick liner to allow a margin of protection when installing the liner and for durability.

The Waterfall

• A separate piece of liner is used beneath the entire waterfall structure to catch any water that runs off the back side of the rocks or any side ways flow of water. The number one area for water loss is in the waterfall. Somehow the water always seems to find a way to travel across rocks and out of the liner area.
• Once the system is set up and running, time must be taken to ensure that water is travelling either over the rocks and into the pond or falling onto the liner and into the pond. The waterfall may look great from the patio, but it can lose a lot of water which will mean a return visit to the site. This start up of the waterfall is a time factor that is seldom counted on and always seems to take far more time then is ever allotted.
• The liner size required for the waterfall would be about 10′ x 6′ and again we recommend a 40 mil thickness.
• The liner can be protected from the weight of the waterfall rocks using a layer of filter cloth, or carpet underlay, or styrofoam. Remember that one stone with a small sharp spot on it and the addition of a couple of tons more of stone can and will cause a perforation in the liner in a short time.
• For large stones heavy duty rubber matting is available.
• While building up the waterfall rocks, the main feed line for the waterfall can be installed. This line will be the one that is attached to the pump, so consider where the best place for the pump will be and position this tubing from there. Often a waterfall is built and the pump is hidden from view and it looks aesthetically great– but it takes an acrobat to reach the pump for weekly or monthly maintenance, and the landscaper is cursed every time someone has to clean the pump or it just doesn’t get done.
• An estimate on the amount of natural stone for a project such as this would have many variables depending on the design, but it would require at least 3 to 5 tons of stone to create a 3′ high and 8′ wide waterfall.

Accessories

• In order to have an adequate spread of water over the rocks and to easily control the water flow, a main line from the pump discharge should be split into 2 to 3 smaller lines. A distribution area can be set up with valves and tees in an appropriate spot behind the waterfall.
• A submersible pump is the simplest set up for this small waterfall. This design would require about 600 to 1100 gallons of water per hour at the top of the waterfall.
• The electrical outlet for the pump should be as close to the pond as possible so that any of the electrical lines can be hidden or camouflaged simply.
• A submersible filter attached to the pump suction should be included to protect the pump and ease the maintenance of the pond.
• To lengthen the hours of enjoyment of the pond, an underwater light should be included which would be positioned to catch the streams of water falling over the rocks. Underwater lighting has a soft light quality much like candlelight or a warm glowing fire. It is important that it is used to light something not just attempting to light the entire body of water. For instance underwater lights are most effective when used to light water falling off rocks or a sculpture or underneath a bridge or stepping stones or grotto. This light can be placed on a timer or on a separate switch from the pump as it is nice to have the pump set up to operate 24 hours a day and the light only coming on at dusk.
• It would also be an important service to show the client how to maintain the pond. Show them how to use the valves and how to disconnect the pump from the tubing for maintenance purposes. Explain how to clean the pond using the pump to empty out the pond (although a water garden is very seldom drained). Often people add to the system when they realize that if they spend another couple hundred dollars they will be able to easily keep the pond clear.

Planting

• The plants should be introduced into air temperature water, about 20-23 degrees. It is the very last thing that should be done in this project.
• Plants are introduced into water that has been conditioned by products that free the water of chlorine and chloramines.
• This pond could have a waterlily assuming that there is 4-6 hours of sunlight and the waterlily would be positioned away from the waterfall in the calmest part of the pond, as they prefer still waters. An average hardy waterlily will spread 10 sq ft. in about 3 years. They can be controlled with pruning.
• 2 to 3 bunches of oxygenating plants are required which are planted into a pot at the 18″ or 3′ level in the pond. A few floating plants such as lettuce or hyacinth will add a lot to the pond immediately and will help to shade the pond from sunlight which will slow down the algae growth.
• The shelf can be planted with a few pots of bog plants perhaps a blue water iris, an arrowhead and variegated japanese cattail. These plants add height and colour to the pond. They are hardy like the lily and so can be left in the pond 12 months of the year.
• The only requirement of the plants is monthly fertilizing. Waterlilies in particular are heavy feeders, and in order to keep them blooming, especially the double blooming lilies and flowering bog plants, it is wise to feed them.
• A few snails would add to the charm of the pond and also help to control the algae in the pond.
• Fish are fun to have, but caution is required as they do grow and they do multiply and unless you keep this under control, a larger filtration system will be required because they can easily put the pond out of balance.
• The planting of this pond is to create a biologically balanced environment of all living entities. This balancing may take 30-60 days to accomplish, and the client should be warned of the time factor. If some of the plants die or don’t grow well or are not planted, then the balance will take much longer or may not happen. The rules to follow are to cover 2/3 of the surface with plant material and to have 1 bunch of oxygenating plants for every 2 to 3 sq.ft. of exposed surface area and a maximum 1″ of fish for every 2-3 sq ft of surface area. The filter on the pump will help get the pond through the greenest periods, but the filter is only working as long as it is in operation.

2. Series of Cascading Reflecting Pools

The client would like to have a total of 4 pools cascading down from the back patio to the pool deck area. They have stressed the fact that it must be visually uncomplicated and simple to maintain. The water will drop a total of 3′ by the time it cascades into the 4th pool and then will be lifted back up to the top pool.

Design

• The planning of a water feature in this style is essential. The beauty of this fountain rests in simplicity, which requires details. The best material for this type of fountain is concrete as it will allow the shapes of the pools to be crisp and clean without the folds of a liner to hamper the look. Fibreglass pools could work as well but for this example we will assume the budget allows for concrete.
• There are many ways to finish the concrete, such as tiling, marbilizing etc. This will be decided by the design concept.
• The concrete walls should be 6-8″thick.
• The pool water depth will be 10″ deep.
• The bottom pool must be the largest body of water, for when the system shuts down, it does continue to flow and if the pool is not large enough to take more water it will overflow.
• Proper accessories must be utilized because this type of fountain only looks good if it is easy to maintain.
• Each pool, no matter how small, must have a drain that will empty water into the next lower pool. This is important for maintenance purposes so that the system can be easily scrubbed, cleaned and is essential for draining the pools for winter.
• The positioning and numbers of lights should be calculated before the pools are poured because the junction boxes will need to be installed.
• Because the design is more of a formal reflecting type pool, it is best not to use a submersible pump (as it will need camouflaging and could disrrupt to overall look). If this ends up being the only system that you can use, then design a pit for the pump that is camouflaged with a steel grate. The pit must have a drain in it or it will be very tricky to empty and dangerous for winter.
• The simplest way to design this system is to keep all of the weirs the same width. For example, if this is a system of 4 pools, then the 3 flows of water should all have 1′ wide openings. This means there will be an even flow of water flowing in and out of the pools all the time.

Installation

• When the concrete is poured, the fittings such as the inlet for the top pool, the drains, and the underwater junction boxes will all have to be poured into the concrete. This is why the planning is so crucial, because once the concrete is poured, it is difficult to add anything. The installation of these fittings means knowing the thickness of the pool walls, the surfacing of the pool and the exact location of all weirs, drains etc.
• The pump will be located in a position close to the fountain but out of sight and is easy to access. The lines to and from the pump will be installed according to the specifications of the pump manufacturer. The easiest dry pumps to use are self-priming pumps, and they usually require an installation at the same level or below the lowest fountain pool.
• The forming of the weir will be according to the design concept: is the water to be a glass sheet or rough and trickling in nature.

Accessories

• The accessories are what make this type of fountain professional. It is necessary to have a sand filter hooked onto the pump system so that the pool water is always clear and very easy to keep clean and maintain.
• Each weir should have an underwater light set underneath so that the weir is softly lit.
• If the client never wants to worry about anything, a water make-up should be considered. These are available manually or automatically. A manual one could simply be a tap right in the pool wall or very close to the pool. An automatic one can be installed into the pool wall and hooked into a fresh waterline such as the irrigation system. It works on a float, and when the water level drops, the water feed is opened and flows into the pool until the float closes the feed source. If the pool had a nozzle that was water level dependant, then an automatic water make-up would be mandatory. In other applications, a water level make-up is not absolutely essential.
• To keep algae from destroying the clearness of water, a brominator or chlorinator can be added to the return line of the pump. There are many mechanical additions available to help keep a pool clean, operating efficiently and enabling the design to be the focus of attention NOT the dirty water or the pump etc.

Water has qualities that no other element has and it is very exciting to see once imaginations are opened to this new medium what will evidence. There are huge strides being made in biological systems and there are others working in a creative and sculptural way… obviously with the advancement in technology the possibilities of water’s use are only limited by imagination.

by Vanessa Shand, O.A.L.A.