Patent ID: 7713031

Claim:
A submersible pump apparatus for use within a body of water, comprising: a housing having a top side, a bottom side, and opposed ends defining a proximal end and a distal end and a pump assembly contained within the housing, the housing situated in a substantially horizontal orientation and aligned in a housing plane; at least one float attached to the top side of the housing and situated in a position above the housing plane, the at least one float having a density that is less than water; a receiving channel contained within the at least one float and situated in a substantially vertical orientation; at least one weight; a rope having opposed ends, one end of the rope attached to the housing and the other end of the rope attached to the weight; a finder float attached to the rope between the opposed ends, the finder float having a density less than water and floats at a water surface level of the body of water; and wherein, the at least one float provides a positive buoyancy to maintain the at least one float and the housing floating at the water surface level of the body of water; and wherein, upon inserting the weight into the receiving channel of the at least one float, the positive buoyancy is overcome by the weight such that the at least one float and the housing have minimum negative buoyancy to sink to the bottom of the body of water; and wherein, the finder float locates the rope and applying an upward force on the rope attached to the weight causes the weight to be removed from the at least one float and applying an upward force on the rope attached to the housing causes the housing to break free from any suction of silt from the bottom the body of water thereby, as the negative buoyancy is eliminated and the positive buoyancy is re-established, the at least one float and the housing raises back to floating at the water surface level of the body of water.