Water feature elements
The essence of the water feature, which is 7.5 m (24.6 ft) long, 1.5 m (4.9 ft) wide, and 18.75 m (61.5 ft) tall, is its 316 stainless structural steel (HSS) construction. After it was fabricated, the entire structure was bead blasted to provide a matte finish.
The water feature produces rain, fog, and icicles—big icicles. A self-contained system, provided by Atomizing Systems, controls the three water elements: fog, which operates year-round; ice system, which only runs in the winter; and rain system, which only operates in the summer.
In a fog
The fog system comprises 24 manifolds each with 10 fog nozzles. DEW, together with Public Work, strategically placed the manifolds throughout various levels of the structure for maximum effect.
Right as rain
The rain system has six manifolds grouped in three sets of two. The two centre manifolds were placed at a higher level (approximately 10.5 m [34.4 ft]), while the mid-level manifold is offset from centre, and the lower manifold is offset further to produce a tri-level rainfall across the entire length of the water feature. The rain system only operates during warmer temperatures and produces a unique visual effect along with tranquil sounds.
As cold as ice
The ice system also radiates from the centre of the water feature to form five rows of icicles. Each row has several stainless steel cables that act as a substrate upon which the icicles ‘grow.’ There are a total of 89 icicles that vary in length and diameter depending on weather conditions. Some icicles can grow up to 305 mm (12 in.) in diameter near the top and reach an approximate length of 9.1 m (30 ft).
At strategic points adjacent to the fog manifolds, stainless steel grids made of small dimension square stock, were installed to collect the ice crystals that are produced by the system in the winter.
Rise to the challenge
There were certain challenges associated with the project that were obvious, such as operating the water feature during the winter in Ft. McMurray, while others, such as not knowing what would happen if the power went out in the middle of February, not so much. The following challenges were more subtle; however, and as such they were not immediately apparent.
Finishing first
The winter operating systems (fog and ice) needed to be heat traced and insulated with ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) insulation and the installation of the mechanical and electrical systems within the structure needed to be completed before it left Ontario, but only after the structure received its bead-blasted finish.
To make this happen, each system needed to be dry-fitted before the bead blasting was performed; there could be no changes to the structure in the form of access holes or supports after the fact. If the systems could not be installed properly after the bead blasting, it would be a major problem.
