Sorry for the late response.
So, I actually own several gas trash pumps as we do a lot of pumping from creeks to flood duck impoundments. This is typically a dry creek, so to get the most benefit out of it I need a pump that can start up as soon as there is water, and then be able to shut off when its pumped dry. I'm not going to be able to be out at the property and constantly monitor this so an electric pump with a float switch seems to be the only reasonable way to go.
I like the ideas to build a sump, it will offer a lot of protection to the pumps and actually not cost much at all to build.
We just had a major rain event and over all, I'm not very worried about this pond filling up. I was finally able to study where water was flowing around my property and the neighboring properties, and it appears that we have way more runoff than we need. I'm actually going to maybe redesign the pond a bit because I'll likely have to reinforce the spillway. The issue with my area however is we keep going into droughts and we get very little rain during the summer. So these pumps will really help out to maintain a constant level.
Esshup, the barnes pumps are estimated to do 8400 GPH at the 8-10' head height that I told the guy we would be pumping up to.
