Sometimes you have the space for a splash zone, sometimes you don’t. Following some simple guidelines can keep your water features less crusty and lower maintenance requirements. Some design guidelines can help to alleviate this kind of thing – something to consider when designing a water feature.
This is kind of like a situation from The Art of War: the sooner you deal with something, the simpler it is to fix. In this case, if the issues were addressed during design, there would have been less maintenance now, and a water feature that would remain beautiful without as much intervention.
The general rule is that nothing (except water) should be in the splash zone, about 3 to four times the height of the waterfall. As you can see from my rough diagram, we’re well inside the zone here.
If you have to put something inside the splash zone, first make especially sure that it’s something absolutely waterproof. This is typically tile or hard, waterproof stone.
Second, make sure it’s something that supports removal of salt deposits (note the plaster and the rust coming through at the corner).
Guidelines for design
If you want an impressive water feature with a huge fall, but don’t want 15 feet of water between the base of the waterfall and everything else – or simply don’t have room, you can still mitigate the effects of hard water.
- Use light colored tile in the splash zone (you can limit colored tile to the wet zone). This will make the deposits less obvious. Dark colored tile with white crust is obvious; white tile is less so.
- Another option is to use stainless steel – not the same look, expensive, but still pretty impressive if done right.
- Make sure everything in the splash zone is waterproof and non-porous so you can (hopefully) clean it. Consult with a pool or fountain expert in your area for advice.
- Work out a regular maintenance program, according to the type of materials you’re using. Some tiles resist scraping and chemicals better than others. Pool tiles tend to be safest because they’re designed to work with chlorine – something that you may add to a water feature in a public space.
- It’s probably possible to treat the water with reverse osmosis to remove the minerals – consult with an expert on this, since it’s going to add maintenance (the system’s filters will need regular replacement). It also needs to be large enough to replace all water lost from splash and evaporation (along with any small leaks that might develop).
- You can do whatever you want under the water line, as long as the tiles resist pool chemicals. Some tiles – especially green colors containing copper – are not intended for pools and will degrade.
- Remember that lowering the waterfall height also reduces the splash zone. You can have a tile mural for height and drama (think night lighting, too) and use scuppers, a spillway or waterfall closer to the water surface to reduce the splash zone while keeping some water noise for ambience.
So what can be done after it’s built?
- For tile, you’ll need some kind of maintenance program to remove the salt deposits. The frequency of maintenance will depend on the type of tile and nature of the deposits. It will also vary according to what’s in your water. The term for this is TDS, Total Dissolved Solids. You can use a pool test kit if you want to know the level when planning your maintenance schedule. A high level will require more frequent maintenance.
- For plaster, well, once it degrades, it’s done. You’ll have to replace it. You can probably tile the surface where the plaster was, at least where the splash from the fountain hits it. The other choice is to replaster at regular intervals, not very practical.
- I’m just putting this in the mix because sometimes you need to step out of the box: let it go. The Japanese would call this wabi sabi, an acceptance that everything ages, is imperfect and may degrade with time. If you use more rustic materials like stone and tile, it’s their natural wabi sabi fate to get deposits in hard water. If it ages in an interesting way, it can look like a ruin, the kind tourists pay to see. Or not.
- Use living water, as opposed to chlorinated water, may grow moss and plants – things that make the fountain look alive. You’ll have to treat the water differently, perhaps add more filtration, perhaps watch the pH. Again, a pond expert should be able to help.
- About fish: don’t add them unless you want green water and algae. Even with a filter, fish poop is fertilizer and will stimulate algae growth.