Waterfalls

A waterfall is the most popular moving-water feature, and it ranges from a gentle trickle to a dramatic cascade.

Natural rock waterfalls

A natural rock waterfall is built from hand-set boulders and faux rock, layered so the water sheets, splashes, and cascades convincingly, as though a spring surfaced in the landscape. Multi-tier and cascading waterfalls drop in stages for more height and a richer sound. The benefit is sound, sparkle, and a powerful focal point; on a pond, the falling water also aerates and circulates.

Pondless waterfalls

A pondless waterfall delivers the look and sound of a waterfall and stream with no open pond. The water recirculates through a hidden underground reservoir, so there is nothing to fall into and far less to maintain. It is ideal for families with young children, front yards, and anyone who wants moving water without fish or aquatic plants.

Wall and sheet waterfalls

For modern settings, a wall waterfall carries water down a vertical face, and a sheet or sheer waterfall sends a smooth, wide sheet of water off a precise edge. These architectural waterfalls suit contemporary homes and even indoor installations.

Streams

Where a waterfall is a single dramatic event, a stream extends moving water across the landscape, revealing the feature gradually.

A garden stream is a meandering, naturalized watercourse, built with the right drop to keep the water moving and enough turns and rock to stay interesting. Streams are often paired with a waterfall and a pond, the stream carrying water between them, so the whole yard reads as one connected waterscape. Riffles and pool-and-riffle sequences add sound and variety along a stream's run.

A dry stream bed, or dry creek bed, is a related landscaping element: a streambed of rock and stone with no water, used for drainage, for visual effect, or as a feature that suggests water. It captures some of a stream's beauty with none of the equipment, and is a practical, attractive choice in the right setting.

Self-contained and disappearing fountains

Not every water feature needs a pond or a stream. A large family of fountains recirculate water within their own contained design.

Disappearing and bubbling features

A disappearing fountain, like a pondless waterfall, recirculates water through a hidden basin, so there is no open water. A bubbling rock, bubbling boulder, or drilled stone fountain sends water gently welling up over a stone and back into the hidden reservoir. Basalt column fountains, millstone fountains, vase and urn fountains, and pottery fountains all use the same disappearing principle. These features are safe, compact, low-maintenance, and the perfect first water feature for a courtyard, an entry, or a patio.

Statuary and tiered fountains

Classic tiered fountains, single, two, or three tiers, in cast stone, concrete, granite, or bronze, bring a formal, traditional elegance. Statuary fountains, spillover bowls, and cascading-bowl fountains add sculptural character. Wall fountains and tabletop fountains bring water to smaller spaces.

Pond and aerating fountains

Within a pond or a larger body of water, fountains serve both beauty and function.

A floating fountain sits on the pond's surface and sprays water in a chosen pattern, a bell, a tulip, a trumpet, or a tall spray. Beyond their look, pond and aerating fountains add oxygen to the water as the spray breaks the surface, which benefits fish and the pond's biology. A spray or aerating fountain can therefore be a genuine functional asset on a pond, not only a decorative one. Pond spitters, small ornaments that spout water into the pond, add a playful, classic touch.

Every moving-water feature recirculates the same water. The features do not consume water beyond a little evaporation, and they are driven by efficient pumps, so a waterscape is not wasteful to run.

How moving water is built and run

Every moving-water feature shares the same basic anatomy: a pump moves water from a reservoir up to the top of the feature, and gravity carries it back down, over the falls, along the stream, through the fountain, to be recirculated. The art is in the details: the rock set so no liner shows, the flow rate tuned so the sound is right, the stream given the correct drop, the fountain sized to its basin.

Because the feature recirculates, it does not waste water; the only loss is a little evaporation. The pump can be efficient and run on a schedule or through automation. The single most important rule, as with pool water features, is that the plumbing and structure are designed in from the start. A waterscape designed properly sounds, moves, and lasts; one assembled carelessly disappoints.

Caring for a waterscape

A moving-water feature is genuinely low-maintenance, but it is not no-maintenance. The pump intake and any pre-filter need to be kept clear of debris so flow stays strong. Leaves and debris should be removed from the feature and the reservoir before they break down. The water level needs topping up to replace evaporation, which an auto-fill valve can handle automatically. And the recirculated water benefits from being kept clean, since the same water runs continuously.

Seasonally, a waterscape benefits from a more thorough clean, clearing the reservoir, checking the pump, and inspecting the rock work. In cold climates, a feature may be shut down or kept running through winter depending on the design. None of this is demanding, and a pondless feature in particular asks very little, but a small amount of regular attention keeps a waterscape sounding and looking its best. WETYR Pools maintains waterscapes as part of our pond and water feature care.

Choosing a waterscape feature

Choosing comes down to the space, the effect, and the commitment. For a dramatic focal point and the fullest sound, a natural rock waterfall, ideally with a pond or a stream. For moving water with no open water to maintain, a pondless waterfall. For water that unfolds across the yard, a stream tying features together. For a small space or a first feature, a disappearing bubbling rock or urn fountain. For formal elegance, a tiered or statuary fountain. For a pond, an aerating fountain adds beauty and oxygen at once.

Most of the best waterscapes combine features, a waterfall feeding a stream feeding a pond, designed together as one landscape. WETYR Pools designs and builds waterfalls, streams, pondless features, and fountains as integrated waterscapes, engineering the pumps, plumbing, and rock work so the water moves and sounds exactly as imagined, and improves with every season.