PRIVATE WATER SYSTEMS EDUCATION SYSTEM

Finding the Available Yield of a Spring (2)

SPRING If the spring is on a hillside, the easiest way to check the flow is to hollow out a bowl-shaped area at the spring and seal in an overflow pipe near the top with puddled clay. Then measure the rate of water flow through the pipe by measuring how long it takes to fill one bucket of known volume.

If the previous arrangement is not possible, arrangements might be possible whereby the pump dealer can supply a test pump to check the spring. A centrifugal pump works best for this purpose, because the flow from a centrifugal pump can be more easily throttled with a valve on the discharge side of the pump. The valve can be closed until the pump is pumping the exact amount of water the spring yields. The water being pumped can then be measured in buckets or containers of known volume.

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