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“Preparing water features for winter”

At a recent meeting of the Fountain Society, Peter Sutherland spoke with Bryan Hirst, one of our 'ponds and lakes, designers and builders' and requested his proposal that would help our members prepare their garden ponds, lakes and features for the winter shutdown, which, although a little while yet, should be considered. The following is Bryan's recommendations which we trust members will find helpful.

By Remembrance Day (Nov 11th) most of the deciduous leaves in the garden will have fallen and the evenings are drawing in. It is a good time to prepare garden water features for winter. All ponds, lakes and features are different. However, this simple checklist will be of help in preparing for the winter shutdown.

Remove the leaves from the surface of the pond with a net, cut back, weed and tidy marginal plants that have died back. Detritus from leaves and plants can also be lifted from the pool and placed on one side for a day before disposal. This gives any wild life caught up a chance to escape back into the water. The purpose of the exercise, apart from the visual, is to reduce the amount of nutrient in the water. Nutrients contained in rotting vegetable detritus, found at the bottom of the pond, encourages an unattractive flush of algae in the spring when the water warms up. Shut down any automatic water supply or top up.

Clean the filters for the pump for the fountains and displays and carefully examine the pump and power supply including glands and exposed cables. Consider any blockages that have occurred in the last season and plan to deal with them. Place the pump on blocks or bricks to raise it off the pool floor. If the filter is raised by up to 300mm from the pool bottom this much reduces the amount of solids that are drawn towards it. Backwash any sand filter and change the radiating tube on any ultra violet equipment. These tubes need to be changed after 6 months service, so it is worth ordering some extra for future use.

Stone work should be protected from frost. Certain stone suffers if it is wetted and then frozen. The water expands as it turns to ice, causing slivers of stone to break away. If you visit, for example, Versailles in winter, you will see a waterproof sack tied over the stone (statues). In the UK items such as the water staircase at Chatsworth suffers from frost damage every winter unless protected.

Although cold winters are becoming more rare in this country, ice, when formed on the surface of a pond, can exert sufficient lateral force to damage the structure of a pool. Try to avoid an uninterrupted sheet of ice forming on the surface and never break up the ice with a hammer if there are fish in the pond – it will put them into shock. There are various ways of stopping ice forming, from small electric immersion heaters to insulated floating rafts. Small black rubber balls floated on the surface of the water will suffice in the U.K.

The fountain electrical supply should be isolated, and protected from corrosion caused by damp. WD40 or another water dispellant should be lightly sprayed onto all exposed contact points before making sure that they will be dry during the winter months. The pond (or lake) can now be left to winter's work.

Bryan Hirst is a director of Waterlands Ltd. Email Bryan

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“Creating a Fountain?”

This 29 page booklet, available free to members; non-members price £10, is aimed at anyone who wishes to restore a fountain, cascade or other waterfeature or to create a new one.

It includes:

  • Where to start
  • What sort of advice is needed?
  • Professional bodies that could help
  • Public competitions
  • Paying for the Fountain
  • Maintenance

The booklet includes a 20 page list under the following categories:

  • Fountain designers and Sculptors
  • Suppliers of Antique and Modern Architectural features
  • Specialists in Technology and Construction
  • Lighting Specialists
  • Foundries

If you would like to make further enquiries please go to the contact us section.

Useful Links

“Links giving useful hints and tips on Building Garden Fountains and Ponds”

The Fountain Society is very pleased to offer the links on this page. The Fountain Society has no connection to the businesses referred to. Descriptions of the goods and services offered are those of the businesses concerned in each case. Persons dealing with these businesses must make their own enquiries as to specification and other terms of business. If you need further help and advice why join not the society and ask a question to which our technical team who will do their best to answer. View the contact page for more information