Fountains

Almost all fountains are water fountains, but with technology advancing you will find some creative ones. They have a basin arrangement with either continuously running water or a tap. These fountains are usually found in schools, rest areas, grocery stores and other public places. Incorporated filters, to remove impurities from the water and chillers to reduce the temperature are features of modern indoor drinking fountains. These fountains are referred to as bubblers in some regional dialects.

Design plays an important role in the function of a fountain. The traditional technique of using gravitational pressure from an unseen water tank at a higher elevation is not practical in modern situations. Today’s fountains have a closed circulating water system which is filled at regular intervals to accommodate the evaporation losses. There must be some arrangements to handle over flow in case rains.

The water movement in the system is generally provided by an electrical motor driven pump. In normal models where we have a pool of water submersible electric motors are ideal. But care should be taken to maintain a static head of water in the pool. Any water fountain, whether it is an ornamental fountain, a bathing fountain or drinking water fountain, must maintain certain standards, particularly in the quality of water.

Children who play in fountains naturally spurt the water out of their mouths to imitate the nozzles in the fountain in the process they swallow that water. So water filter plays an important role in modern water filters. A water filter must be able to remove all media particles from water. To make the filtration process effective the filter is kept at distance from the pool of water.

A separate pump is used to remove the water from the pool to the filter and then back to the pool. Chlorination or anti-algal treatment, and other biological methods to filter and clean water are also used in addition to the filters. People tend to wash their hands and taste water from fountains. This presses the need of regular cleaning practices, both biological and physical. Fountains spray hosts some bacteria which may cause disease out breaks.

One more area of maintenance that needed attention is electrical fittings. Both pumps and lighting must arranged in a way that they may not lead to accidental shocks. A low voltage DC supply is preferred for submerged lighting to avoid shocks.

Water always attracts humans, particularly running water. That is why fountain operators and owners are legally liable for any accidents or health hazards caused by fountains in the United States. If the water is unsafe, fences must be designed to keep people far enough away, so that they cannot touch the water.