Commercial Water Fountains – Benefits and Shortcomings

Commercial water fountains, also often called decorative fountains, are very common architectural buildings that are available in most city gardens, in front of governmental buildings, plazas and malls and also outside of private homes. There are many sizes and shapes that they can be found in, including the gorgeous lion head shape.

Commercial Water Fountains and the Waste of Water

Water fountains are really decorative pieces that make proud any place on which they are erected. No wonder many governmental buildings have a decorative fountain in front. However many people have started to question the water usage of these fountains. Particularly affected by these doubts are places that lack water, including the various desert areas. If a desert environment or an area suffering from lack of water has a water fountain that is using plenty of it every day, how environmental and water conservation friendly is that in the eyes of people who pay dearly for their water rations?

A water fountain is actually a water user, just like a person. A rather strict account of water use is implemented in many areas of different countries and that is deeply ingrained in people. So having a beautiful fountain built where people are stressed about meeting their water rations is a matter of criticism for many. Wasting water is a big no-no in the minds of most people nowadays. While aesthetics is important, it is not as crucial as having enough water to drink and use regularly for the daily chores.

Of course having a commercial water fountain on a larger scale is different to having an indoor wall fountain that hardly consumes any water or electricity. It also reuses the same water for a long time.

The Benefits of a Commercial Fountain

While it seems that outdoor water fountains are a source of water wasting, they do have their benefits. Besides being aesthetically pleasing, they can serve as good noise masking. If a fountain is installed in a park near a major road, it is very easy for anyone sitting on park benches to hear the city noises that are quite annoying at times. Hearing instead the soft flowing of water is efficiently masking the loudness of the irritating noises. Also water fountains are proven to be a great source of relaxation and recuperation. Many people have a water fountain such as a Feng Shui fountain when they are meditating either indoors or outdoors.

Cooling an area is another benefit of having the fountains. If there are extreme warm temperatures outside, the water fountain is cooling the surrounding air very effectively. Of course in order to give the most benefit they should be erected in smaller parks with shades of trees coming from above. If they are located in an open market, the cooling effect will be greatly diminished.

It is also important to stress the aesthetic benefits of the commercial water fountains. People have always been attracted to beautiful things that are pleasing to the eyes. Beauty brings an emotional calmness and balance in times when every day stress is a regular occurrence. Water was always a theme of fascination with writers, poets and singers throughout the centuries. Keeping a piece of national history and culture in the constant attention of our eyes is something that elevates us all and makes us remember how beautiful our planet really is.

Resources:

phoenix.gov, Creating a healthy community – Inclusion of water features