Last weekend, I photographed the water fountain in the nearby community of Fountain Hills, AZ. Commissioned in 1970, it was the world’s tallest fountain at the time. Its height has since been surpassed but it still ranks among the world’s tallest fountains.
About 7,000 gallons of water is delivered per minute through the fountain’s 18-inch nozzle. This is achieved with the use of three 600-horsepower turbine pumps. However, the 560 feet height of water jetted into the air is not pushed everyday. Using two of the three pumps only, the daily water height reaches 330 feet.
The fountain runs every hour on the hour for 15 minutes from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. everyday of the week! It’s operated at it’s full height on only three occasions per year:
- St. Patrick’s Day
- Fountain Hills’ Anniversary of Incorporation (December 5)
- The Fourth of July
The lake within which the fountain is located, as well as the fountain itself, were designed and built to act as an effluent storage and evaporation system. For that purpose, the 100,623,600 gallons of water contained in the lake are all wastewater that is chemically treated and recycled.
Because the fountain rises so high into the air, it is easily seen from different viewpoints all over the town. The only force that prevents it from operating is the occurrence of winds over 10 mph. During high winds, the fountain’s operation is stopped in order to avoid spraying water onto nearby residences.
In addition to the height of the stream of water, people are also attracted to the fountain to witness the water’s change from crystal clear to green. This takes place during St. Patrick’s Day on March 17 at noontime.
Interesting structure, Peter, nicely captured. Excellent commentary also. Thanks.
Hi Peter:
Very interesting, have seen it many times but never have taken a photo of it, will have to do so next time.
Hi to Rolande
Karey