Since it was debuted in 1998, the Fountains of Bellagio continue to attract millions of people every year. It has become one of the most iconic spectacles on the Las Vegas Strip, and some visitors plan their trips around watching the show.
At the same time, some of the neighboring hotels have increased rates for the rooms that look out on the amazing display.
Keeping this massive display functioning is a serious undertaking, and they Bellagio employs some highly trained personnel to accomplish the task.
The numbers
This water feature includes 1200 nozzles, 4500 lights, and 8000 meters of pipe, sitting in an 8-acre artificial lake filled with over 22 million gallons of water.
There are small robots (called oarsmen) that control the direction of the nozzles, and the computer system works like a stage manager or performance choreographer.
Despite all the cutting edge technology that goes into the fountains, though, some of the biggest maintenance challenges revolve around the more mundane components.
With thousands of people gathering around the lake for each show, unwanted items find their way into the water and down to the filters. Everything from coins to food wrappers to diapers have tried to clog things up, and every day someone has to deal with the problem.
More than 30 engineers are employed to maintain and operate the fountains daily. These are some comparatively unique positions for an engineer, because beyond the standard maintenance training, they are all dive certified because so much of their work takes place under water.
The maintenance
There is a huge workshop nearby that houses all the repair tools and equipment, and a machine shop is stocked up for on-site building and repairs.
There’s also a dive shop to keep all the gear for underwater work.
Beyond that, there are several rooms full of pumps, holding tanks, and water softeners. Each of these shops and storage areas have their own maintenance requirements, because it all has to work together effectively to produce the spectacular shows every day of the year.
Keeping a massive water feature like this running in a desert is a serious undertaking.
Visitors have high expectations for these shows, but precautions still have to be taken in order to reuse and recycle as much of the water as possible. (This is why shows are cancelled in high winds. They can’t afford to let the water get away from them.)
Whether they’re working underwater to clean and maintain the pipes or fixing one of the oarsmen in the shop, there is a lot of work that goes into every one of these displays.
The show may be free to any and all passersby, but expectations have reached the point that any interruptions to the show could have detrimental consequences. The maintenance team has to be well-trained and quick to react, because they may only have a short time to do a lot of work.
It has to be done fast, and without error, and then this iconic feature of Las Vegas can continue to attract countless new visitors.
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