What water-management device did Leonardo da Vinci design to raise water?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a hydraulic screw pump to raise water.

Leonardo’s notebooks contain studies of screw mechanisms and water-lifting devices. A rotating helical surface can carry water upward inside or along a channel, making the mechanism useful for irrigation, drainage, and construction. The principle is closely related to the ancient Archimedes’ screw.

Leonardo did not invent the basic water screw. Archimedes is traditionally credited with the ancient device, and earlier forms may have existed before him. Leonardo’s importance here is his detailed investigation and redesign of hydraulic machinery during the Renaissance.

The pump is sometimes mistaken for a water wheel because both belong to hydraulic engineering. A water wheel extracts energy from moving water, while a screw pump uses rotation to move water to a higher level.