Photo courtesy Arizona Splash Pads, LLC. Splash Pad

• Streams. If you’re interested in the sound of water without a pond or fountain, consider a recirculating stream. “These are fabulous, especially for front yards. They conform to almost everyone’s HOA requirements and are safe for children,” Barbi Holdeman says. They can even be designed to look like a natural desert stream bubbling from desert landscaping.

Recreation
• Splash pads. What could be more fun than a glorified sprinkler shooting random streams of water into the air?

“People see splash pads at parks and public facilities and they don’t realize they can do them in their own backyard. We’ve been doing them for years,” says Ryan Bingham, owner of Arizona Splash Pads, LLC. Pumps run only when needed, and water use, chemical use and maintenance are drastically less than a swimming pool, he says.

Splash pads start at about $5,500 with an anti-slip concrete finish and six to eight nozzles. Pour-and-place rubber (a more cushioned surface) also is available and will add about $1,800 to your tab, depending on the size.

Photo courtesy the Pond Gnome

• Sand boxes. The Holdemans have been developing a product that their 11-year-old son has been test-driving for some time. It’s an 8-by-10-inch-deep sand pit with a water reservoir filtered by a geotech fabric that lets water through but keeps sand out. A pump then re-circulates that water to the top so kids can spray it out through a hose.

In other words, it’s a sandbox with always-on water.

“Kids want sand to be wet all the time. But I don’t want the garden hose running half the day,” Paul Holdeman says. “With this, they can have the hose running all day long and it won’t matter because it re-circulates.”

Depending on size and borders, the product will cost about $5,000.

• Misters. These days, your recreation might involve less child’s play and more patio or poolside entertaining. A properly installed misting system can cool your patio by up to 25 degrees, says Tom Tutera, operations manager of PSI-MistAir in Phoenix.

Tutera, whose company has installed misting systems at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa, Chase Field and Valley restaurants, says the secret is to have misters shooting away from the patio. “Your cool zone will start immediately at the edge of the patio and you won’t have wet windows and furniture,” he says. You’ll need to locate your pump by power and water – usually near your A/C unit or pool equipment.

And for the do-it-yourselfers, Tutera offers classes that can save customers up to $1,800 by showing you how to install a stainless steel misting system in four hours for $3,100 or a plastic high-pressure hose system in one and a half hours for $1,795.

Photo by Arte Verde

Conservation
• Rainwater harvesting. While many of us think about water features in terms of enjoyment, others consider satisfaction. While adding a rainwater harvesting system to your yard may not be the most aesthetic step you’ll ever take, using rainwater instead of municipal water to care for your landscaping is satisfying.

A typical and inexpensive home rainwater catchment system diverts roof runoff water through a gutter system and into a large barrel. A spigot at the bottom releases water, using the water’s own pressure for flow. “Once you’ve saved 50 to 80 gallons of water and used it to water your landscaping, you feel pretty good,” Holdeman says.

Holdeman does offer an underground storm drain system that he describes as basically a “catchment built of Legos.” This modular system is comprised of multiple, interlocking crates that can be placed underneath patios made of permeable pavers or other porous surfaces. Each crate holds 35 to 40 gallons of water.

Of course, once you get into storing that kind of water, circulating it becomes key. The cost for all of this infrastructure can approach $5,000 to $6,000. “We get 8 to 10 inches of rain here a year. So you ask, ‘Why would anyone spend that kind of money to do this?’ The environmental impact is huge,” Holdeman says.

In the end, whether you want to relax, play or save water from a rainy day, Holdeman says there are limitless opportunities when it comes to home water features. “What’s available? There are very few limits anymore.”

Resources
Arizona Splash Pads, LLC
5130 W. Baseline Road, Stes. 117-227, Phoenix
623-236-0682 • azsplashpads.com

Arte Verde
8300 N. Hayden Road, Ste. 207, Scottsdale
480-367-9337 • arteverde.com

PSI-MistAir
1646 E. Jefferson St., Phoenix
602-253-6200 • mistairsystems.com

The Pond Gnome
Home-based business, Peoria
623-572-5607 • pondgnome.com

TraVek
7641 E. Gray Road, Ste. H, Scottsdale
480-367-1171 • travek.com