WBTI & Chinese American Academic Association of Nevada (CAAAN)

Sunday, February 06, 2005
Copyright @ Las Vegas Review-Journal
CROWD PLEASER: Dances With Water
A staff of 33 people keep the Fountains of Bellagio impressive, inspiring
By SONYA PADGETT
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Four kinds of fountains are used in Bellagio's water show: minishooters, supershooters, extreme shooters and oarsmen. All were created by the Florida-based company WET Design.
Photo by Gary Thompson.
Scott O'Connor monitors the action of the Fountains of Bellagio from the control room.
Bellagio fountain manager Curtis Hunton describes the use of oarsmen, a type of fountain used in the resort's Lake Como show.
Divers and fountain technicians work in the "Batcave," an area used for maintaining Lake Como as well as the technical equipment that makes the water show possible.
Tourists gather nightly in front of the Bellagio fountains to watch the spectacular water show.
Acrowd stands transfixed in front of the Bellagio, watching plumes of water dance and shoot nearly 240 feet into the air to the tune of Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA."
"How does it work?" one bystander wonders aloud at the display's crescendo, as lights, music and water meld into a seemingly magical spectacle.
The whole show, whether it's set to a Frank Sinatra classic or contemporary country song, is breathtaking in its apparent simplicity and probably leaves more than one visitor awed and mystified.
The actual inner workings are anything but effortless, and require a 33-member team to stage 30 to 40 shows a day, says Curtis Hunton, manager of the Fountains of Bellagio.
Shows run every half-hour from 3 to 7 p.m., then every quarter-hour until midnight. On Saturdays and Sundays, shows run on the half-hour from noon to 7 p.m.
Hunton is the man ultimately responsible for ensuring that the 4,798 lights, 213 speakers and the more than 1,000 individual fountains in the lake work on a day to day basis.
Lake Como is 13 feet at its deepest point and contains 8.5 acres of water, which present unique challenges to those maintaining the equipment. More than 165 miles of wires and cables connect the different pieces of this giant underwater jigsaw puzzle and require vigilant oversight. The last thing Hunton wants to do, he says, is disappoint his audience.
Since the Bellagio opened in 1998, the fountains have consistently been one of the resort's most popular attractions, and only five shows have been scrubbed because of technical difficulty, Hunton notes.
Four main rooms filled with equipment support the fountains. The workers jokingly refer to their underground area as "The Batcave" because it's in the side of the faux rock cliff that surrounds the lake, making it look like a cave, Hunton says.
An engineer sitting in the show control room that overlooks the lake pushes a green button to start the fountains dancing and the music playing, but that action is a small part of the overall workings.
Compressors deliver air to the 1,198 fountains, which then forces water out at a rate of 125 to 500 pounds per square inch. Everything is choreographed to the last second by the Florida-based WET Design. While the company is responsible for setting the fountains' dance to music, it is Hunton and his crew who are on the front lines keeping things running smoothly.
If the wind gusts too strong, especially from the south to the north, the fountains must be adjusted, to keep from soaking bystanders and to maintain the integrity of the show, Hunton says. When it rains, the crew has to adjust water levels using underground private wells. If the lake level rises too much, it will keep the fountains from coming up to the surface and functioning properly, Hunton explains.
The workers' backgrounds and training vary, from electricians and divers to computer technicians and welders. All workers are rescue scuba certified, Hunton says, because so much of their time is spent on and under the water.
Every day starting at 6 a.m., workers take small rafts and boats out onto the lake to perform regular maintenance.
Two times each month, a team of divers undertakes cleaning the lake. It's not an easy task, taking about three days to complete. During the winter, the divers are working in water that averages about 30 to 40 degrees. The crew checks to ensure that the individual components are free of debris, while also removing objects and trash that visitors toss into Lake Como. They also filter all of the lake water through 50 individual filters.
Over the years, divers have pulled some unusual things from the water, including thousands of dollars in coins and gaming chips, sunglasses, food and other items. The money is donated to local charities, Hunton says.
Each device has a personal address, allowing workers to "talk" directly to it, or to groupings of fountains, Hunton says. Sensitive computer programs work to pick up malfunctions, and can notify personnel during the show, as well as enable them to troubleshoot before a show finishes.

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