Pond Water Filter for Irrigation

[HeislerPilot]

He All,

I’m looking to set up an irrigation system to water 3 acres of fruit trees, 2 acres of commercial flowers, and provide personal fire defense in Northern California. The water source is a pond (avg 6’ deep, 150’ across, and 20’ below the fields) fed a creek that goes dry from mid October through late December every year.

My understanding is that minimum supply for a fire nozzle is 100gpm at 50psi, so I am sizing things for this.

Initially I had looked at centrifugal pumps with a sand media filter but heard it mentioned on forums that submersible pumps and a wet well give you better flow at less energy, so I’ve been leaving that direction.

For this purpose I drew out these plans for a filter needing minimal (if any) regular maintenance I would love to hear feedback on if this looks like a good idea or just a money/time sink. If you would recommend something different, then I’d appreciate ideas along those lines too

Thanks in advance.

 

[Valveman]

I have seen lake water filters of all kinds. It is almost impossible to keep them from clogging up. The best luck I have had is with a spinning lake screen. There are many different brands. Here is just one to look at.

PC - Self-Cleaning Intake Screen

LAKOS PC Screens protect pumps and water system components from algae, leaves, and troublesome debris allowing water to flow freely to the pump.

www.lakos.com

These screens use some of the water discharged by the pump to go back to spin and clean the intake filters.

Also, need a flow inducer or shroud on a submersible in an open body of water like that.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[HeislerPilot]

Those schematics are really helpful. I can see how that would be better for preventing organics from clogging the system.

Would you worry about sand/grit getting in and damaging the pump? Or is it generally expected that the amount of sediment that would stay suspended in a pond is small enough that it should be fine?

I know visibility in the pond is generally 1-2’ so I would imagine there is a fair bit of fine grit in there.