According to the report of the project archictects:
"The volume of the water display has been continually increased over time. There are three particular instances where this increase in water may negatively affect the fountain. The four arc lengths of pipe located behind each boy statue have eight aeration jets that spray a large amount of water directly on the corners of the fountain pedestal. This effect obscures the children's statues. It also adds a great deal of water spray to the bronze, which may accelerate the the deposition of iron and the deterioration of the bronze. None of the water effects in the lower basin are original. The lower basin used to be a smooth pool that provided a pattern of small wakes around the water streams flowing from the lily jets in the upper basins. The child holding a necklace was described as looking at her reflection in the pool below. Neither of these two original effects is possible in the present turmoil of water in the lower basin. However, the volume and drama of the lower basin sprays draw attention to the fountain in its busy urban context.

"A second area of alteration and increased water is within the upper basins. The additional rings of water with vertical sprays have increased the continual flow of water into the basin, therefore increasing the amount that overflows the basin as well. What was originally a thin sheet of water has become a bubbling wall of water that obscures the sculptural elements and causes more damage over time. A four inch high bronze leveling ring was also added to the upper basins. This leveling rim alters the scale and appearance of the upper basins and raises the water level as well. There are nine water lily jets or drain holes at the perimeter of each upper basin. These jets have been plugged.

"A third area where additional water effects may be detrimental is in the north and south upper basins. The historic design provided vertical jets in the east and west basins, behind which, women offer water to an elderly man and a bathing boy. The north and south upper basins had no water effects in them at all, behind which a farmer and a firefighter implore the heavens for water. The hands of the Genius provided the only source of water for these basins. First, the water jet and ring effects were indiscriminately added in 1949 to all four upper basins. The end result is the male figures are begging for water while standing in front of a gusher. It seems that some restraint in the water effects may be desired if the 'story' of the fountain is to be understood."

Note the gentle draining of water from the upper basins through holes in the lily design following the bowl perimeters. These holes were plugged later in the fountain's history, and to the rims of the basins were added four-inch high bands of bronze to level the rims and allow a cascade of greater volume of water.

(Photo credit: Cinicinnati Museum Center)

The powerful display of water in the recent past, while suitable to modern tastes and capable of competing in the noisy urban landscape, is far from the contemplative, quiet in the original design of the fountain's water features - a design which better complemented the "story" of the sculptures.