What water-control device did Leonardo da Vinci design with rotating blades to lift water?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a water-control device based on the Archimedes' screw to lift water.

The Archimedes' screw is a helical device that moves water upward when the screw rotates inside a tube or trough. Leonardo studied and illustrated screw-based water-lifting machines as part of his broader investigations into hydraulics. His versions could be used for drainage, irrigation, or raising water between different levels.

The underlying invention was not originally Leonardo's. Ancient Greek tradition attributes the device to Archimedes of Syracuse, who lived in the third century BCE. Leonardo's contribution was to study, draw, and adapt the mechanism within Renaissance engineering, alongside pumps, canals, locks, and other water machines.

The device works because water becomes trapped in spaces between the helical blade and its casing. Rotation carries those pockets upward. It should not be confused with a water wheel, which extracts energy from flowing water, or a pump driven by pistons. Archimedes' screws remain in use for wastewater, irrigation, and moving granular materials.