Some of the water in the southern canal is used to operate the water wheel pumps for the garden-side fountain, the rest flows through a waterfall (former sluice) to the lower level of the Central canal. The Central canal is divided into two arms in front of the large parterre, which run under the connecting wings of the palace (therefore called "water passages"), encompass the main palace building and Garden parterre and then lead to the pool in front of the courtyard. The pumping station in the St John’s Pumping Tower of the palace building, which is also driven by water wheels, is fed from the northern arm. The majority of the park's water then falls back to the lower level of the basin of the Grand circle and the palace canal between the palace driveways, which ends in a water basin (Hubertusbrunnen). However, the water is not drained through the palace canal, but through two inconspicuous canals in the northern quarter of the Grand circle, which are actually the beginning of the Nymphenburg-Biedersteiner Canal.
