The scoopwheel pump has been used for drainage in Holland since at least the 1500s, and the Dutch occasionally use scoopwheels today. A number of historic Dutch scoopwheel pumping stations have been restored and converted to museums. Some of these museums are working museums where the pumps are operated regularly.

A scoopwheel is able to raise water about a quarter of the diameter of the wheel. Wheel diameters might be 20 feet or more, and widths range up to about 10 feet. Sometimes two or more scoopwheels are operated off the same rotor. Additional scoopwheels can be placed in series to increase the total head. Scoopwheel pumps are commonly made of a large number of wooden slats (in the pump on the right, there are 20 slats). The water is pushed up a curved incline by the slats. 5 to 10 rpm is typical. The scoopwheel is somewhat similar to a vane pump, but this pump's vanes don't move relative to the wheel. It is also somewhat similar to a tympanum drum.

Information about the scoopwheel pump was obtained from Steam Drainage in the Netherlands, 1770-1870, by K. van der Pols and J. A. Verbruggen. (See Bibiliography.)

(This is a still representation and possibly also a low-resolution image of a fully animated pump.)