Spring House Pump

[Fazmataz]

I have been asked to design a water pump system for a client who wants to feed a decorative water feature in a park. The source of the water is a small spring fed creek or a spring house with 12" of water in it.

I do not want to use the spring house due to its age and constructability issues. Was thinking of a submersible pump in a small pit or a shallow well. Not sure of the water table depth, however with the spring house constantly full, I would imagine it is shallow so a well may be the best fit. Owner does not want to dig to investigate the groundwater depth so I am not sure if it is worth drilling a well.

If I use the submersible pump, how can I divert the creek water to the pit and avoid debris entering the pit? Was thinking a small inlet type structure with grating in the bed of the creek.

Anybody have experience with this? Would you recommend the submersible or the shallow well?

 

[bimr]

You will probably be better off with a shallow well. Even though you have not stated the size of your system, you probably do not need much makeup water because the system is recirculating.

If you try to pump the surface water, you are going to have numerous maintenance periodic problems, freezing, debris, sanitation issues, varying water level, etc.

With a well pump, all you will have to do is make sure that you have power.