Should Have More Fountains in the City.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18780, 8 June 1929, Page 19 (Supplement)

Should Have More Fountains in the City.

may approach the city, he will see none of these things, though he will pass plenty of places quite suitable for them. When he arrives at the centre of this “ Garden City,” at the crossing of Cashel and High Streets, he will at last see an erection that by courtesy is called a fountain. But instead of copious flows of water he will find it trickling out in such tiny driblets that he will naturally conclude water is extremely scarce, and that our boast of an abundant supply is not founded on fact. In years gone by, before the high pressure supply was in .operation, there was more water to be seen in the city. Several sumps had been formed in suitable places for the use of the Fire Brigade, with water from artesian pipes flowing into them, other artesians or .small fountains were to be seen in private gardens or in public places, and copious currents of water flowed down many of the street channels. These have now nearly all disappeared; the sumps have been removed, the wells supplying them closed, or removed altogether—the last one, situated where it might be used for a beautiful little spray falling over a rockery green with moss and fern, is being done away with as I write—the pressure of the private artesians has fallen so low that the water no longer rises above the surface of the ground, and, in the centre of the city, the channels have been covered over, concealing what water still flows along them. One well on the river’s bank, sunk to a deeper stratum than the shallow wells, still throws up a fine spout of water to a height of about two feet, day after day and week after week, as it has done for some five years or more, and gives evidence of the copious supply beneath. But in the public gardens and the broad parks where we might expect numerous fountains and water displays there is nothing of the kind visible, and two or three still deeper wells 1 which might easily throw up jets of water, falling again in graceful and refreshing showers, are made to pour their supply directly down into the small pool beneath, or are allowed to run away in pipes below the surface to the small ponds

that do exist in the gardens, not one of which is aerated and beautified by jets rising into the air. It is true there is a structure of iron fashioned into the form of various strange and fabulous fish that rises to a height of about twenty feet, and tradition says that water once flowed from it in tiny jets like unto those still running from the erection at the junction of Cashel and High Streets, but no water has been coming from it for several years, and many, especially of the younger generation, question the truth of the tradition and dismiss it as a fanciful fable founded on the fact that the structure does resemble those which in old time &ere known as fountains. Some years ago a writer who wished to find a polite name for these two structures and others elsewhere, which pretend to be fountains, but belie their name by the scarcity or complete absence of water, suggested that they might be referred to as Obtrusive Unveracities, and no name more appropriate has yet been found for them. These so-called fountains are made of iron, stone or other

material, some adorned Avith graceful forms of pelicans and swans, others grotesquely fashioned into dolphins or fish from the mouths and eyes of which the tiny streams of water squirt out, but m all the water is carried up to a greater or less height, and the water allowed to flow out and fall to the ground. They are common in the older cities of Europe, and were originallv modelled on drinking fountains erected for man or beast where water' was scarce. But in these days, when all towns’ nd cities are provided with a general water supply to each house, drinking fountains Are no longer required; yet the form of the drinking fountain is still impressed on their modern equivalents intended for beautifying the city as water displays. Now if water is carried up in pipes, as in these socalled fountains, and allowed to flow out and down to the ground, the upward current is hidden and the downward flows are usually straight or only slightly curved, and without charm or beauty. But if water is made to rise from the ground into the air the whole of the spray is seen and forms a graceful curve rising as a single jet and falling in much divided sprays of glistening droplets. True fountains or water displays of this kind have been constructed in many cities purely for ornament and they form most attractive features. They are usually placed in gardens as in the case of Versailles, famous for its water displays. But at Versailles the effect has been attained at great expense and at the cost of many lives, and the displays are limited in number and duration. The gardens at Versailles cost about £20,000,000; the water is brought to the gardens through great pipes totalling ninety-eight miles in length; the fountains play only on certain days of the year—on the first Sundays of the summer months—some of them play for three-quarters of an hour, others, largeY and using more water, only for one quarter of an hour. The artesian beds of Christchurch contain water enough under sufficient pressure to supply Christchurch with

water displays finer and more numer- j ous than those of Versailles at very little cost. All that is necessary is to < sink a pipe to the desired water-bear- J ing stratum. From the shallow stratum, at one hundred feet below the surface or less, the water originally rose three or four feet above the ground and it would have continued to rise to that height if bores had not been allowed to be put down without restriction and by interfering with one another to lower the pressure until now the water does not rise to the surface except in a few low-lying places. From deeper strata the water rises higher, perhaps to two feet or more like the one on the river bank already referred to. These might be utilised as small sprays or tiny cascades falling into miniature ponds bordered with ferns or water plants. There are two wells of this kind, one in Victoria Square, the other near the Scott Statue, but they are surrounded by rock-work built as high as the spray so the water can hardly be seen and its effect is entirely lost. Below the central part of the city and at other places between it and the sea there is an artesian bed about 400 feet below the surface; from this the water vrill rise in a pipe to thirty feet or so and if a suitable nozzle is put on to the pipe at ground level will rise directly into the air to a height of 15 or 16 feet forming a most striking display. More than twenty years ago a three inch bore was sunk 400 feet to supply the bath at the Christchurch Boys’ High School then at Worcester Street. This gave a flow of 150 gal lons a minute at ground level, a nozzle reducing the open end to one inch was put on as a trial and for more than a week a magnificent spout of water rose into the air almost to the top of the wall of the fives court, that is between 15 and 16 feet high. There are numerous wells already existing that would give equally good results. Now these results are given by the unaided pressure of the artesian flow and the display would be continuous if the pipe were left open. Of course if at any time a greater pressure was needed to give higher sprays this could easily be

given by connecting the city s high pressure supply to the pipe for the time required. By thus forcing the water at considerable' pressure through specially constructed fine nozzles a spray fine as vapour is given, extremely useful for ferneries and lawns. If the artesians are used for the water displays as suggested the only structure required will be that for the nozzles for the particular sprays desired, e.g., one large spout or numerous smaller ones, and a little rock-w'ork at the base, the nozzles being kept at ground level or only slightly above. In the fountains at Versailles and in other places where money was plentiful the pipes are concealed in sculptured figures of river gods, water etc., but this is by no means necessary and indeed is not desirable for no erection above the ground is needed; any sculp ture to be effective would have to be of some height; it would be concealed

by the whter when flowing and, stained with the water and vegetable growth, would not be a pleasing object when the flow is cut oft'. Moreover the cost would be prohibitive. It would be far better to have many displays without . sculpture than one with sculpture mis- . placed as the basis for wa£er sprays. . In 1907 the writer appealed to the citizens of Christchurch to utilise the artesian supply first for their own domestic wants and then to make their city blossom forth into fountains and lovely gardens. The domestic needs are now supplied and some of the lovely gardens are here. When shall we have the water displays? Another article by Dr Chilton on the Evolution of the Fountain will appear next week.