The Archimedes Screw is still used today in some limited applications (usually electrically-powered), and can range in size from a quarter of an inch to nearly 4 meters (12 feet) in diameter. A large screw or banks of screws may be used to pump rainstorm runoff or to lift water or wastewater, for example.
Archimedes' screws, now called screw conveyors, are also used today primarily to propel dry bulk materials. However, if you do not have access to a generator pump and need a low-tech solution to raise water, it doesn't get much easier and low-tech than an Archimedes' screw. <ref> [httphttps://www.ehow.com/how_8725014_buildhow_5016689_build-handpoweredsimple-water-pump.html How to build and hand-powered water pump.] By Andrew Latham, eHow Contributor. </ref>