teehjaeh57 has the right idea. Its exactly how I drain my 2.5 acre pond with 7 springs running into it. It's a one person job takes me about 3 five gallon buckets to fill the pipes to get it started. There is actually a youtube video that shows how to do it as well. I'm sure any size pipe will work. I think mine is 2 or 2 1/2 inch pvc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rgpRJ1xCeM