Saw these and thought of Don's bug out property and springs... then was suggested to start a standalone thread.
These videos are produced by Wranglerstar on youtube, who's a modern homesteader.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG0laNqJWY0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFZYD05I29shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpClMTWtqXgGravity fed Hydraulic Ram pump providing presurized water from spring
I think the hardest part would be keeping the pipes/pumps/impellers/valves etc clean from debris in the original water source. Seems like folks like to build a dam of sorts, and then screen/filter the water before it enters their systems.
Obviously, for this to work, you've got to have elevation differential from the water source to be able to built gravity induced pressure. That water throughput, with pressure, can then either drive an electric generator (21st century water wheel), or be used to feed a ram pump, which then delivers a reduced quantity of water back uphill to an alternate location.