Not sure what type of stream you have but thought I'd put my two cents in since I am doing exactly what you want to do. My creek can go from 6 inches deep (spring fed, sand bottom) to 6 feet deep in a matter of minutes depending on how fast the rain comes down. I tried well screen but it clogs too easy and its very hard to clean it out after that.I tried different sizes too didn't help. After many tries and a lot of failure I decided to try and build a floating device that would house a submersible well pump ( most reliable pump I've tried)They are built like tanks and can push water up the 70ft hill I have without any issues. Here's what I did. 2 pieces of 6 inch pvc about 3 ft long with caps on each end, these are the floats. In between and just below those are a piece of 3 ft 4 inch pvc where the pump goes in. One end has the outlet pipe for the pump and is closed off from the creak water. The other end I attached a smaller piece, about 18 inches long of 4 inch pvc with one inch holes drilled all over it. I also used a wing nut to attach it to the pump pipe so its easy to get on and off. For the final screen I just slide a piece of drainage tile sock over the 18 inch piece of pvc and use a bungee cord to hold it on. Finally I use steel cable and attached the whole thing to some tree roots and when the creek goes up so does the pump when it goes down so does the pump. By floating it you keep most of the dirt out of the filter because most of it is on the bottom. Might sound like a lot of work but will save you hours of frustration if your creek is anything like mine. Mine has been running since about July and I only need to go down and check the filter about twice a month. And that just means taking the sock off and replacing or rinsing it off and using the same piece. Hope this helps and hope i explained it well enough.