It looks to be part of a reed bed water treatment system. There's probably some sort of (electric) pump that recirculates the water, so on one level it's a sculpture that uses electricity. But I've seen those sorts of bowls before. They're designed to automatically produce a sloshing motion in the water on each level. A slug of water enters the bowl at a slight angle and produces a wave that runs around in a figure-8 before moving on to the next level down. Because they're shallow, the water tends to move in waves rather than smoothly. The effect is that it does a good job oxygenating the water as it flows down the cascade. And, for all I know, they may be using a wind powered pump too.

Dan

That is a flow form.

People who study water flow have discovered that the figure-8 movement folds oxygen into the water. It is often used as a water feature design simply for aesthetics, but the oxygenation is also used to help microorganisms break down debris in water in a purification system.

Sue

Thanks for the info.

I'm very interested in setting up a small scale water purification system as we have a very high water table in our area and thus I'm concerned about using greywater in the garden... also want a way to safely dispose of left over (organic mineral based) hydrponic solution...

I'm doing a ton of research at the moment and will post some interesting links soon in case anyone finds them helpful.

Thanks again,
Devin.