Eaton HQ Floating Pond Fountain

DateAugust 2014
ClientEaton
Categories
- Floating
- Floating Spray Ring Fountain
DesignDesign Workshop

Delta Fountains was tasked with developing a large scale floating pond fountain display in the existing pond at the Eaton Headquarters. The client wanted a self-contained water feature appropriate for the 300-foot (in diameter) pond outside their office building. With several challenges to overcome to complete this project, the end result was a 40-foot floating steel spray ring.

Eaton HQ Floating Fountain Challenges

As with most projects of this nature, retrofitting equipment in an existing installation presents several challenges. In this case, the pond bottom was clay lined and was surrounded by a stacked stone retaining wall, neither of which were allowed to be penetrated. The design intent was to create a massive display that would be more appropriate in the 300-foot diameter pond than the smaller previously installed features. Since neither the pond bottom nor the wall could be penetrated, we had to start out by focusing on a design for a self- contained floating fountain. Our goal was to achieve an overall 80′ diameter ring of jets, tightly spaced around the ring to create an almost solid skirt of arcing water.

Conceptually the pond fountain ring design was beautiful, but in reality one that would require a good amount of horsepower to achieve the desired look. In most instances this would not be a major issue, but in this case, we were limited to six existing power feed conduits that were already installed in the wall. We also had to figure out how to get the fountain in the pond since it would have to be hoisted over the retaining wall. We also had to design a solid anchoring system for the feature without penetrating the clay liner or drilling in to the stone retaining wall. And, as we were later informed, the pond had a tendency to freeze over completely in the winter with 12″ thick ice.

Floating Pond Fountain Design Solutions

We started out the design by calculating the necessary volume of water needed to create the 40-foot spray diameter. We determined that we would need a minimum pumping rate of 3,456 g.p.m. Since we were limited by the six existing conduits, we decided to divide the volume by six pumps. We could have easily achieved the flow with fewer pumps but the existing conduits were only 1 inch in diameter. Fewer pumps would equate to larger horsepower requiring larger power cable. The larger cable would not fit in the conduit. The drawback to this is lighting for the feature had to be sacrificed due to no means of getting power cables through the retaining wall.

Once we settled on the six pumps, we had to figure out how to float this massive spray ring. We were very concerned that the typical design for our floating fountains would not provide the necessary buoyancy or stability to support the 4″ x 40′ diameter stainless steel pipe ring and the submersible pumps. The solution was to make the spray ring in 20-foot segments, with each segment straddling a 90-inch diameter floating platform which also supported the submersible pump. The segments were fitted with mechanical flanges which would make it easier to make up the connections once each of the segments was placed in the water.

The pond was full at the time of installation, so all the connections had to be made from a Jon Boat we brought along. To increase the buoyancy capability, we added a 45″ floating platform beneath each of the segment connections. As it turns out, the combination of six 90 inch floats and the six 45 inch floats easily handled the more than 6,000 pounds of equipment.

For anchoring the massive pond fountain assembly, we borrowed inspiration from our previous experience with the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir installation. We fabricated custom anchors fitted with steel weights that were heavy enough to effectively secure the ring yet not dig into the clay liner.

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