Short answerUse a surface pump within about 15 to 20 ft of vertical suction of the water, or a small submersible in a screened intake or spring box. Keep the intake off the bottom and out of the warm margins, mount the pump and panels above flood level, and check whether you need a surface water right first.
Key takeaways
- Surface pumps within about 15 to 20 ft of suction; submersibles in a screened intake beyond.
- Keep the intake off the bottom and the hardware above the flood line.
- Check for a surface water right first in western states.
Choosing the pump
- Surface pump on the bank: within suction range, with a foot valve and strainer. Simple to reach, but it can lose prime and must be protected from freezing. See submersible vs surface.
- Submersible in an intake: sits in a screened pipe or well point in the water, so it never needs priming. Better for steep banks and higher lifts.
- Ram pump, if there is fall: a hydraulic ram uses the energy of falling water to lift a small part of it, with no electricity. Where a creek drops several feet across your land, it is worth comparing.
The intake
- Screen it, and keep it off the bottom: a perforated pipe on a stake or a floating intake that draws from just below the surface.
- Stay out of the shallow edges where algae is thickest and water warmest.
- Fish screens may be required on streams; ask your state fish and wildlife agency.
- A spring box collects and protects a spring's flow before pumping; NRCS cost-shares this as Spring Development (practice 574).
Floods and livestock
Mount the array and controller above the highest flood line, not the usual high water. Run the cable in conduit, and fence the pump and array so cattle cannot rub on them. Moving stock off a creek onto a trough is itself a conservation practice with cost share available: see EQIP for solar stock water.
Water rights
In western prior-appropriation states, pumping from a creek or developing a spring generally needs a surface water right or a specific exemption; Wyoming, for example, routes springs over 25 gpm, or used for anything other than stock or domestic water, through its surface water division. See well permits and water rights.
Questions
- Can a solar pump pull water from a creek?
- Yes. A surface pump can pull from water within about 15 to 20 ft below it in practice; deeper or farther than that, put a small submersible in a screened intake. In western states, check whether you need a surface water right first.
The calculator opens with a pond setup; set your lift and pipe run.