Geneva’s
Jet d’eau
A heritage of SIG
Since 1891, the Jet d’eau
has been one of Geneva’s
most famous landmarks.
The fountain’s vast flowing
curtain of water brightens
Geneva’s harbour and
expresses the ambition,
vitality and international
renown of a future-facing,
environmentally-friendly city.
The secret to how Geneva’s
Jet d’eau can create both a
full-bodied and airy plume of water
is in its nozzle. The specially designed
nozzle in Geneva allows the water to
be projected at a diameter of 16 cm at
the base, filled with millions of tiny air
bubbles. It’s this combination of vaporisation and shape which gives the Jet d’eau
its distinctive height, form and opacity.
JAY LOUVION / sig
Beauty treatment
The high-pressure system created by the Coulouvrenière plant allowed the development of small piston engines as an alternative to using steam, and these were
soon put to use by local watch and clock makers, jewellers and engravers who
worked from home or in small workshops.
Once upon a time there was a Jet d’eau...
As with so many inventions, luck played a
vital part in the creation of the Jet d’eau.
During the 19th century, water was the
principal source of both energy and industrial
development in Geneva. The city expanded
quickly in the second half of the century,
growing from 64,000 inhabitants in 1850
to over 100,000 by 1890, with water being
essential to the city’s rapidly developing
industry and growing population.
Geneva built a hydraulic plant at la
Coulouvrenière in 1886 to harness the power
of the Rhone’s waters and distribute it to
local artisans. The plant was operational for
over a century, only being taken out of service in 1990. In the evenings, when workers
stopped their machines for the night, excess
pressure on the system meant that the Coulouvrenière engineers had to rush to stop the
pumps. Since they never knew exactly when
they would have to do this, a separate outlet
was created using safety valve, allowing the
excess pressure to be released into the air.
The first Jet d’eau, situated at the tip of the
large wing of the Coulouvrenière plant, and
spouting some 30 metres into the air, was
born.
In July 1891 the city council decided to make
a tourist attraction of the Jet d’eau, and move
it out into Geneva’s harbour. The new Jet
d’eau, soaring up a height of 90 metres, was
inaugurated during the federal gymnastics
festival and lit up on the 2nd of August to
celebrate the 600th anniversary of the Swiss
Confederation. Ever since, it has been a key
focal point along Lake Geneva’s shores.
A serious
matter
Until 1951 the Jet d’eau was connected to
Geneva’s drinking water supply, but sending
a cubic metre of water into the air every
two seconds is a serious matter, so it was
decided that a separate pumping station
should be built, partially submerged in - and
using water from - the lake. Ever since, it has
been this pump which has powered the Jet
d’eau, allowing it to function practically all
year round, under SIG’s management.
Antonio Dell’Acqua
The Jet d’eau’s longest
serving caretaker — could
have been named for
the job.
The Jet d’eau’s
caretakers
«Every SIG facility can
be remote-controlled
over the computer
network except the Jet
d’eau, which still needs
to be operated manually,»
he says. «We switch off
the Jet d’eau the moment
the first droplets reach the
Eaux-Vives quayside when
the cold north-easterly
wind, the bise, picks up.
And what a privilege it is
to be the one who starts
up the fountain each
morning!»
The Jet d’eau has five voluntary caretakers
- each a former employee of SIG - to ensure
its smooth operation. The fountain is highly
sensitive, and nothing can replace the advantages of a keen human eye and long experience. The Jet d’eau needs to be switched
off quickly if the temperature drops too far or
the wind picks up, so with a careful hand on
the controls and an eye on the weather, the
caretakers has a job with a touch of magic
about it.
air
inlet
nozzle
lighting
valve
pump 1
railings
Pressure 16 bars
500 kW
500 kW
Pumping station
pump 2
pierre vallier / sig
In the evening, 8 projectors light up the base of the
Jet d’eau and four others make the column and the
summit shine. SIG supports humanitarian aids by
illuminating exceptionally the Jet d’eau in color.
Great symbols
The Eiffel Tower
Paris
(324 m)
350
300
250
200
The Jet d’eau
Geneva
(140 m)
150
100
Arch of
Triumph
Paris
(50 m)
Tower
of Pisa
Pisa
(55.8 m)
Statue of
Liberty
New York
(93 m)
Big Ben
London
(96 m)
50
Manneken Pis
Brussels
(61 cm)
The race for the
highest fountain
SIG’s Mission
SIG is a Swiss publicly owned enterprise offering its services to the 470,000 residents as
La Tour Eiffel
well as to the companies
and corporations of
Paris
(324 m)
the Canton of Geneva. It supplies its customers with water, gas, electricity and thermal
energy, provides wastewater treatment and
waste recycling just as it offers innovative
services in the areas of optical fiber and
energy services. Its activities aim at promoting
an economical and efficient use of resources
supporting sustainable development in a
practical way.
SIG owns and operates the Jet d’eau.
International competition to beat Geneva’s 140-metre Jet d’eau and become
the «tallest fountain in the world» was
intense. The highest existing to date is
Jeddah’s Jet d’eau, which reaches 312
metres high!
The height of Geneva’s Jet d’eau can’t be
increased ; its urban setting obliges it to
keep the negative effects of dispersing so
much water to a minimum. But Geneva’s
Jet d’eau nonetheless remains the world’s
first, and its setting renders it inimitable.
La Statue
de la Liberté
New York
(93 m)
Printed on recycled paper
L’Arc de Triomphe
Paris
La Tour
Pise
(55.8 m)
Le Jet d’eau
Genève
(140 m)
Big Ben
Londres
(96 m)
www.jet-deau.ch
www.sig-ge.ch