IN THE GARDEN : Fountain Restoration Business Makes a Splash

“Few things are as sad as the sight of a drained and dried-up fountain or pool,” said Bill Dimino with considerable passion. “Pools should be full of life and fountains splashing.” But, Dimino said, pools are often empty because they leak, and too much splashing is often the reason fountains are turned off. His Venice-based Oakwood Fountains & Restoration has made the salvation of these water features their business.

Southern California is full of older mock Spanish fountains and naturalistic ponds and waterfalls, built mostly in the 1920s. Some are architectural wonders, although they may not be engineering triumphs, but even the simplest can be a cool, sparkling contrast to the approaching heat of summer. All around the Mediterranean, where the inspiration for much of our architecture originates, fountains and pools celebrate the sight and sound of water in an otherwise dry climate.

Dimino has some good advice for those contemplating a fountain or for those with one that doesn’t work. While some splash is the idea, too many fountains splash water out of their basin. “A surprising amount of old fountains were poorly designed, and even most modern, ready-made fountains are too small to contain the splash,” Dimino said.

Water that splashes out keeps the ground around the fountain too wet, which can kill plants, or makes paving slippery. Algae quickly grows on wet ground or paving and calcium deposits discolor paving. Even the tile in old fountains is vulnerable. Splashing water eats away at the grout and then water gets under the tiles and causes them to crack.

The solution is a larger basin or reservoir at the base, one that can catch all the splash from the top. The tops of many fountains are way too wide or tall for their basins. This solves another problem at the same time--many fountains need filling too often because there is not enough storage capacity for the water that is recirculated. When the fountain runs out of water, the pump burns out.

Most fountains do recirculate the water--they actually use less than a lawn--but Dimino says people often ask “where does the water come from,” not quite grasping the idea that it simply goes round and round. A few old fountains, built back in the days when the L.A. Aqueduct was new and water plentiful, did not recirculate the water but simply drained it into the garden. These need replumbing.

As an added precaution against burned-out pumps, Dimino suggests using a float valve that automatically adds water to the fountain when it gets low, particularly in small fountains that have little reservoir capacity.

Too much splash may also make too much noise in a small garden. Large fountains can sound fast and frenzied, almost like a freeway, though in particularly noisy parts of town, their sound may hide even more objectionable noises nearby.

Too small a sound can also be annoying, sounding like a dripping faucet. Dimino usually uses several small jets so the sound is somewhere in between these two extremes. Or he simply lets the fountain burble, a pleasant brook-like sound.

Fountains can be alive or sterile. Filled with plants, fish and aquatic snails, they are very easy to maintain. Once they achieve a biological balance (which may take only a few weeks, or 6 months), you only need to add water as it evaporates.

The water is never crystal clear and some people ask why it is “dirty,” but Dimino says it is clear if it looks clear in your hand and that natural tea color in the pond is “not dirt, but life establishing itself.” Some algae is necessary to keep a pond’s ecology in balance.

Algae may grow on statues, sculpture or other objects that are always wet, but it is easily scrubbed off.

Most aquatic plants cannot grow in turbulent or running water, so the splash in a fountain full of plants must be minimal. Dimino says that aquatic plants usually found at the edge of creeks or streams, such as rushes and reeds are the best bet for fountains. Lilies and other aquatics generally like very still water. Most aquatic plants also need a warm, sunny location.

Sterile pools are managed just like swimming pools, using chlorine and other chemicals to keep them clean and pure, but that involves a fair amount of work and knowledge.

Mosquitoes are not a problem in sterile ponds any more than they are in swimming pools. Fountains that are not chlorinated or treated will need fish, which completely control mosquitoes and their larvae. Mosquito fish (available by calling Mosquito Abatement district offices) work best in very small or shallow bodies of water, or use common goldfish (“feeder” goldfish or Comets) in larger pools. The fancy Japanese koi are not a good bet. They eat plants, and plants may use too much oxygen at night, so these fish need special ponds that are heavily filtered and aerated.

Safety is another factor and something that usually must be brought up to snuff in older fountains.

All electrical outlets for pumps and lights must have ground fault receptacles that prevent fatal electrical shock if there is some problem with the wiring.

Fountains and pools cannot be deeper than 18 inches, otherwise most cities consider them a swimming pool and they must be fenced and gated (and you will need a permit). If you have small children, be especially careful with the design of fountains and pools. Elevating the edge is one way to keep very small children out.

Leaks are the biggest problem in old pools or fountains, which must be drained and dried and then patched or repaired. Sometimes tiles must come off to discover the leak and “you can be sure if there’s one there are two,” says Dimino.

The fountain pictured here leaked so badly it needed a new basin. Dimino made it large enough to contain the splash and aquatic plants. The vintage water nymph at its center was covered with algae and badly corroded but he restored in and secured it to a new base, with a new pump.

Pools and waterfalls have similar problems and solutions. One 60-foot cascade in a Beverly Hills garden, built in the 1920s, had such a small reservoir at the bottom that turning on the pump instantly emptied it and the cascade was so violent that all the water splashed out on its way down the hill. Dimino built a larger pool at the bottom and calmed the rapids but even then his advice to the owner was to not run it too often. The sight and sound of water in the garden can be overdone.