To find the height of the column of water in the Fountain Hills fountain, we can use the tangent function and the information given in the problem. The tangent of an angle is defined as the ratio of the opposite side to the adjacent side in a right triangle. In this case, we can use the angle of elevation to the top of the fountain, the distance from the surveyor to the base of the fountain, and the height of the column of water to form a right triangle.
We can then use the tangent function to find the height of the column of water as follows:
tan(29.7°) = opposite/adjacent
opposite = tan(29.7°) * adjacent
opposite = tan(29.7°) * 980 feet
opposite = 0.56 * 980 feet
opposite = 548.8 feet
Therefore, the height of the column of water in the Fountain Hills fountain is approximately 549 feet. To the nearest 10 feet, this is 550 feet.