Since 1999 Hydroscreen, LLC has kept busy inventing, patenting, building, and selling wedge wire screen assemblies to municipalities, agricultural entities, industry, and hydro power diverters. The screens sold by the company are unique in that they are self-cleaning and remove leaves, sediments, and debris from water flowing over them. Most projects are routine but occasionally a project comes along that is both fun and challenging. Princess Diana's Memorial Fountain was such a project.

Municipalities, farmers and hydro turbine operators all have more in common with royalty in England than one would guess; they all bought tilted wire Coanda wedge wire screens from Hydroscreen, LLC. While some projects are a bit more exciting than others the goal is the same, remove all debris and sediments from water flow with a maintenance free self-cleaning screen.


Princess Diana's Memorial Fountain is located in Hyde Park in downtown London. The fountain is built of granite blocks set in an elliptical form on a gentle hillside. Water is pumped to the top of the ellipse where it enters a small pool before flowing down both sides of the ellipse into a pool at the bottom. From there it exits and flows by pipe to a screening vault and then into a tank where it was pumped back to the top of the fountain.

Upon its opening, everything worked perfectly until leaves began to fall and blow into the fountain. The leaves rapidly clogged the screen baskets and flooded the vault and surrounding grass. Maintenance men were dispatched with small net-type pool skimmers to collect the leaves before they exited the fountain. The maintenance crew walking around the fountain all day attracted the attention of a fountain designer on vacation from Madison, Wisconsin. He had previously purchased a tilted wire Coanda wedge wire screen from Hydroscreen and knew that the company could also solve the problem at hand with the fountain. Upon his return to the United States he contacted Hydroscreen and explained the problem. The design was completed and drawings were on their way within several days. Along with the drawings were pictures of several screens operating under similar, and worse, conditions than existed at the fountain.

The screens were fabricated with a wire opening of 1.0 mm with a # 63 wire and a 5-degree wire tilt. The acceleration plate on the top and the toe plates were slotted for easy installation and adjustment. Installation was quick and with out problems. The pumps were turned on and water began to circulate down the fountain, out, over and through the screens into the holding tank. The maintenance personnel now wanted to test the screens. Eight large bags of wet leaves were dumped into the fountain. As expected the screens captured all the leaves with only the top 8 inches of the 2-foot screen wetted. It is anticipated that the leaf storage portion of the vault (where the leaves fall after being screened from the source water) will need attention only several times a year. Pictures from the successful Hydroscreen, LLC installation follow: