Building a pondless stream/rill with no waterfall - will it work?

[Czercat]

I just had a fifty-foot concrete walkway removed (very narrow, it used to go from the back door to the incinerator in the alley), and I want to use the trench to make a stream/rill. I'm not trying for a naturalistic stream, more of a very shallow canal. The trench is 16 inches wide and about 6 inches deep, and falls less than a foot over the fifty-foot length. Right now, I'm thinking about lining it and adding gravel for the stream bed, and then having the inlet hidden under a metal grating that will be used as a bridge over the rill to get to my patio.

My questions (so far):

• What size pump do I need, given that it's a very low rise but long horizontal run, and it will be fairly shallow?
• I want more of a "gutter after a heavy rain" sound than a "rushing river" sound, so I think that I should be ok to leave the slope as-is (i.e., not dig out any waterfalls or try to deepen the slope) - but will that cause any issues that I'm not aware of?
• The reservoir will be next to the alley, and I'm planning to direct any rain overflow into a gravel soak-away along the property line - any suggestions for best practices on overflows?
• I've read a lot about pump vaults and filters, etc., and I came across the HydroChamber - does anyone have experience with that? Given the small space I'll be working with at the end of the stream (about 6'x6'), it looks like an appealing alternative!

I'm very sure I'll have other questions, but I'll start with these!

Thanks!

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

I’m confused….. Is there a pond involved? What are the starting and end points for the water? Do you have any pics for reference.

 

[Czercat]

No pond, just an underground reservoir at the bottom that pumps back up to the top of the rill. Like a pondless waterfall, but no major drops.

This is taken from the top of the existing trench, where the walkway was. I'll line the trench, and full it in with small-grade gravel for the water to run over - very shallow, and fairly quiet. In the lower right corner of the picture is the bottom of the path that will end in a metal grate to step over the rill. The water inlet will be hidden under the grate.