Researchers found that burying the pipes three feet below a 10-acre test plot on silty, alluvial soil cut water losses and erosion by about one third. Runoff of the herbicide trifluralin dropped about 30 percent, compared to fields without the pipes. These pumps, powered by two or three aerodynamic blades, discharge water more than twice as fast as solar pumps and traditional, 16-blade windmills. A wind turbine pumped six to eight gallons of water per minute last year, compared to two to three for the windmill and one for the solar pump. The turbines power generators which are connected to submersible well pumps that lift water in a steady flow.
Traditional windmills pump water in spurts by driving a piston pump up and down.
Farmers and ranchers, pump dealers, electric utilities and government agencies are inquiring about the turbine-operated pumps.