Water walls are almost a must in today’s contemporary style gardens. Often
focal point of garden, this is due not only to their grandeur but also to their tactility. Modern day urban noise such as traffic can be drowned out by such a feature creating a calming environment favourable to sipping a glass of wine and enjoying relaxed conversation. Necessary to create these impressive walls is a prefabricated unit called a Water Wall Trough or Sheet Descent Unit. These units are specifically designed to produce an even flow of water along entire length of unit. There are two main types of Water Wall Troughs. Made from Stainless Steel, Copper or PVC, each type distributes water in a different way. Below we explain differences between two main types of Water Wall Troughs available. Sheet Descent Water Wall Unit Water Distribution Effect
Pictured above, this unit distributes water from trough over spout or lip and down surface of wall into a catchment reservoir or pond (can also be used as a ‘free-fall’ unit). This unit brings subtle noise and movement into garden. Wonderfully tactile, it invites onlooker to touch wall and feel cool water running through hand. The shimmering effect of water can be captured at night with inclusion of subtle lighting.
Installation
This unit should not be installed any higher than 2.0m above surface of water in catchment reservoir. If used as a ‘free-fall’ unit this height reduces to 0.8m. Flow Requirement This unit requires approximately 4500 litres per hour per metre width. This should produce a film of water approximately 3mm thick. Some adjustment in flow is achievable with use of an inline value. See examples 1 & 2 for further explanation.
Catchment Reservoir
Waterfall catchment troughs are designed to be positioned at base of a sheet descent water wall where wall surface is fairly even ie. tiles, render, smooth stone, metal, glass etc. They are large enough to suit most submersible pumps. Where a surface is irregular and likely to cause splash such as with pebbles, rock etc a larger catchment reservoir should be used to stop water from splashing out of feature. Not only is this a waste of water in times of drought but it is truly amazing how quickly a water feature can empty when splash becomes a problem. Rectangular Statue ponds are recommended in these circumstances.
Pump
The pump required is governed by flow requirement and head height (ie. height at which waterfall is installed above surface of water in catchment reservoir). Example 1:- Installing a 1.0m Sheet Descent at a head height of 2.0m
This unit has a flow requirement of 4500 litres per hour (4500 (litres) x 1 (metre)) therefore requires a pump that will supply 4500 lph at 2.0m high. Check pump performance charts to find a pump that will supply this flow at required height. In this example a Blagdon Amphibious 8000 will push 4980 lph at 2.0m high and is therefore suitable. Example 2:- Installing a 0.8m Sheet Descent at a head height of 1.5m
This unit has a flow requirement of 3600 litres per hour (4500 (litres) x 0.8 (metres)) therefore requires a pump that will supply 3600 litres at 1.5m high. Check pump performance charts to find a pump that will supply this flow at required height. In this example a Seerose UP90 Fountain Pump will push 3840 lph at 1.5m high and is therefore suitable. Projecting Water Wall Unit Water Distribution Effect
