How much water do the lake and fountains in front of Bellagio use? I’m sure there’s some evaporation, so it probably has to be filled constantly. Also, is the water recycled or filtered? It’s been 20 years since the fountains opened in 1998. I’m sure the water is very dirty if it’s not filtered somehow.
MGM Resort International spokeswoman Samantha Cummins replies, “Lake Bellagio, O, and all Bellagio property irrigation comes from replenished well water, from underground wells that are on site and water discharged from the pools in the O Theater. The latter goes directly to the lake. This results in the conservation of domestic potable water equivalent to the annual usage of 5,000 average residential pools.”
So yes, the water is filtered and, no, it’s not (particularly) dirty.
But what about that punishing Las Vegas sun? Surely, much of the lake is lost to evaporation. The lake holds 22 million gallons of water, which is supplemented with 12 million every year, representing the amount that evaporates into the dry Vegas air, “depending on temperatures and wind speeds,” according to the Las Vegas Sun.
However, the water that fills Lake Bellagio used to feed the Dunes golf course, which Steve Wynn tore down to build Bellagio, and “the fountains reportedly use far less water,” reports Vegas Seven’s James P. Reza.
As for filtration, five million gallons a day can be cycled through the lake’s filters. While the ideal would be to filtrate the entire lake every day, the infrastructure isn’t big enough. Filtering is supplemented by barges outfitted with portable filters; they scour the lake bottom for things like coins (which are then donated to charity).
Man cannot live off Bellagio fountain water, but ducks are another story. They found the manmade lake, workers fed them, and soon enough, up to 90 of them were bobbing up and down in the big pool. Most have been relocated, although a few remain.
“I’ve seen ducks turn ninety degrees to avoid the water column. When the show is getting ready to go, compressors turn on and you can hear that. It takes about two minutes for shields rise out of the water and the ducks seem to know to get out of the way then,” fountain manager Curtis Briggs related to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
(Interesting side note: Many former ranches along the fringes of Fremont Street remain disconnected from the central water system, relying on their private wells for 1,800 gallons of water a day. And when Steve Wynn was proposing Venetian-style canals for downtown, his plan was to irrigate them with water diverted from the Colorado River. Ranchers predictably got their back up and Wynn’s 1991 scheme went into the history books as one of Vegas’ biggest "pipe dreams.")
For its part, MGM boasts of an “upgraded water-treatment system that saves 24 million gallons per year” — the equivalent of filling Lake Bellagio and then some. The famed Bellagio fountains are maintained from an area known as the Batcave, where scuba-clad divers service the 1,800-pound water cannons that propel H2O seemingly into the stratosphere.
The water power is harnessed by Oarsmen (which wave back and forth), Minishooters, Supershooters and Extremeshooters. The equipment calls for a 30-person maintenance staff, especially as it has been submerged for 19 years.
The baddest boys, as you might expect, are the Extremeshooters, whose 460 pounds per square inch of water pressure propels jets 460 feet aloft. The Oarsmen were built by a now-defunct company, which taxes the Batcave’s collective brainpower to keep them operational. “They were designed to last five years. We’ve kept them running 19, and we should be able to keep them going for quite a few more,” engineer Rod Botelho told the R-J.
Given that Bellagio’s fountain show was conceived for equipment with a limited span, surely we will face a crisis at some point in the future where its infrastructure has to be rethought. But we think the challenge will be met. Why? Because it is the most recognizable icon in Las Vegas and too much rides on keeping it that way.
