We may not realise it, but water pumps have become an indispensable “tool” in our everyday lives. Why? We all make use of water everyday, right? We use a tap to wash our hands, dishes, glassware, and other stuff; we take a shower to ‘clean’ ourselves; we use water-driven appliances such as dishwashers, refrigerators, and washing machines. Heck, even our cars, trucks, and speedboats make use of water in one way or another. We all take these things for granted mainly because when we “switch on” one of these things, water will usually flow and the machine/device that we are using then works. What most of us don’t know, however, is that at the heart of many of these everyday conveniences, the humble, trusty water pump makes them work!

So what is a water pump then, and what makes it work? Well, at its most basic, it is a device or machine that is used to compress, move, raise, and/or transfer water or perhaps other fluids. It works because it usually has an incredible amount of suction or “pushing” power (depending on the kind of pump; some “suck” water, while others “push”), thereby allowing it to serve its purpose of moving water (or other fluids) from one point to another. Surprisingly, they have been around for several centuries: our ancestors saw the need for such pumps and “improvised” their own by using wood and other readily-available materials and harnessing the power of nature – such as wind and gravity – to “obtain” water from nearby sources (rivers, streams, waterfalls, etc.) into their farmlands.

Today, of course, we still make use of water pumps, for example to:

1.] Move water from underground water sources (i.e., “water tables”) through pipes and into our houses’ kitchen sinks, bathrooms, and lavatories, using well pumps, a very “basic” variation of the water pump.

2.] “Hydrate” our lawns and gardens using a combination of sprinklers and/or “irrigation systems”.

3.] Clean up water-flooded (whether they be caused by malfunctioning water pipes or our pool gone amuck) areas around our house (such as the basement) using sump pumps, another kind of water pump.

4.] “Aerate” our fish ponds by continuously “circulating” air, using submersible water and/or air pumps.

5.] Keep the water in our “home” and “spa” swimming pools (as well in some ponds) fresh and clean by “recirculating” and “filtering” it using some combination of submersible and/or sump pumps, together with some filtering elements.

6.] Treat “waste water” coming from drainage systems and contaminated “groundwater” in water treatment plants all around the world using more powerful and sophisticated combinations of submersible and/or sump pumps as well as filtration systems.

Indeed, the humble water pump has come a long way in helping shape the modern world, and without them, we probably would not be able to use and enjoy fresh, clean running water and we’d probably be stuck with latrines and tin baths!

Understanding how water pumps work can be among the most exciting endeavours for physics and engineering enthusiasts. While many excellent models and types have already dominated the market today, one can be made certain that improved models can still be invented in the mind through a basic review of the concepts involved.

There are various water pump types which are in use today either in residential or in commercial buildings or both. It will be helpful for one to be able to familiarize the mechanisms of each.

One type is called the well pump which is basically a more fundamental type of pump. The source is underground water, hence it can be inferred that the liquid had to be pushed upward in order to deliver water into the tank or container. In distributing from the tank to the household faucets, the tank would have to act as a water pump itself. Anyway, well pumps are most common in households. Since they are driven by electricity through a motor, the household may suffer from temporary loss of water supply when power surges come, though.

Another, but more general, classification of pumps is called centrifugal pumps. These pumps are used to convey not only water but also other liquids which are relatively thin. The main characteristic of centrifugal pumps is that they are operated by means of one or more impellers. An impeller is simply a rotating motor within a machine, and it is designed to initialise fluid movement by rotation. When impellers are used for centrifugal pumps, the term “centrifugal” will find better meaning in the minds of the learning ones. Indeed, centrifuges move about in a rotational manner, hence the name. When a desired pressure difference is reached by the centrifugal mechanism of the pump, the liquid will then be conveyed as designed. Centrifugal pumps encompass widely diversified types, and are thus common in both residential and commercial buildings.

While not really water pumps, positive displacement pumps are also widely used types and have a few similarities with centrifugal pumps. They do not usually convey water since they are designed for thicker or more viscous fluids. Positive displacement pumps do not make use of impellers; instead, they rely on other rotating or reciprocating parts to create the desired pressure difference. Clearly, these types are of more use in industrial settings rather than the residential ones.

In the end, it can be said that the enthusiast has certainly been amazed with the intelligibility of the concepts discovered and the applications made out of those concepts. He is then challenged to further be thinking outside of the box and trying to make more innovations out of those that have already been established. Who knows if he gets to invent the next model of pumps Australia will be most honoured of?

The whole of the human body, while generally made up of roughly 60% water, sheds a wonderful light on the mechanism and functionality of water pumps and pipes. The most efficient water system possible – and that which largely involves and employs the use of these pumps and pipes – could thus be said to have learned well enough from the mechanisms of the human body’s transport system.

While the whole transport mechanism may be so much more complicated than what could be reflected from what has just been said, there certainly are simple lessons for one to learn from. One of these lessons encompasses the importance of maintaining not only the water pump itself, but also the abundance of the water supply and the quality of that supply.

If you would try to understand the relevance of maintaining the abundance, that is, the quantity of the water supply to how bodily water pumps are to be maintained as well, that alone would be giving out powerful hints to the more mechanical equivalents. When there is less available from the water supply, there would naturally be less water to pump, and lesser amounts of water would be expected to be delivered to a second point as a sure result. While the pumping might be forced from the human machinery, it is evident that without the refilling of water into the body from the outside reservoir, the body would only be exhausted to dehydration and the efforts of the bodily pump put to waste. This is understood to be unfruitful and even damaging to the human body. The same might then be inferred for the water pump used in the community’s water system.

Putting the concept in mind, it will then be most easily inferred that there is indeed a great deal of importance in maintaining water reservoirs and keeping them well preserved. Aside from the abundance or the quantity aspect, the quality aspect of the water supply would now be more easily seen in consequence. If the human body demands of a water supply which is able to promote health rather than sickness, then the larger water pumps Australia employs in its water distribution systems would be in dire need of the same high water quality. Only the standardised water quality would then be really promising of the fullest pump performance and longevity.

You see, the essence of having a right balance between water quantity and quality has indeed been demonstrated in greater light through a closer look at what the human body internally needs. Now, water quantity and quality will not only be considered as reasons or goals for installing the best water pipes and pumps; they would also be needed for the work of the pipe and pump maintenance itself.