Water Features near you

The main choice is between features that hold a pool of open water and those that recirculate water from a hidden reservoir. It affects safety, upkeep and what can live in the feature more than size does.

Digging is where most projects start and where buried utilities get hit. Before excavation, public lines are marked through a locate service such as Ontario One Call, and private lines, such as a feed to a garage or pool equipment, need a private locator. The installer then shapes the basin with shelves for plants, lays a protective underlayment and a flexible or preformed liner, and builds the edge so the liner is hidden and runoff from the lawn doesn't wash soil and fertilizer into the water.

The pump, skimmer and filter keep the water clear and moving. They should be sized for the volume of water and the height of any waterfall, placed where they can be reached for cleaning, and powered by a circuit installed for them.

Pumps, lights and de-icers put electricity right next to water, where a fault can be fatal. The Electrical Safety Authority says outdoor outlets should have ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs), which cut the power when current leaks to ground, and advises hiring a Licensed Electrical Contractor for permanent outdoor wiring and outlets. In Quebec, electrical contractors are qualified through the CMEQ. A pump running on an indoor extension cord across the lawn is not a safe setup.

Parachute, Canada's injury-prevention charity, warns that children can drown in as little as 2.5 centimetres of water and that drowning often happens quickly and silently. It advises keeping an experienced swimmer within sight and reach whenever children are in or near water, and, for homes close to open water, fencing off a play area for children away from it. A decorative pond deserves the same caution as any other water in the yard.

Local rules can reach water features too. Toronto's enclosure rules treat anything on private property that can be used for swimming, wading or bathing and is 60 cm deep or more at any point as a swimming pool, so ask the city how a deep pond would be treated before you dig, and check your own municipality's bylaw elsewhere.

The Public Health Agency of Canada explains that mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water, meaning water that doesn't move or flow, and recommends replacing the water in bird baths at least twice a week. A well-built pond or fountain keeps its water moving, which also helps keep it clear, but a stopped pump, a clogged filter or a forgotten basin soon becomes a breeding spot.

A pond stocked with ornamental fish needs enough depth and filtration for them, protection from herons and raccoons, and a plan for winter. A wildlife pond skips the fish and uses gently sloped edges and native plants so frogs, birds and insects can come and go, and it tolerates a more natural look.

Water expands as it freezes, cracking fountain basins, pumps and plumbing left full. Before hard frost, fountains and pondless waterfalls are usually drained and their pumps removed, while a pond with fish needs a plan to keep some open water through the winter, based on the installer's advice for its depth and your region.