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The problems that are listed of air locks etc are principally problems that would affect consumers drawing directly from the pipeline. In this case as I understand the problem the pipe from the spring will run into a tank from which the consumers will draw water. If the spring flows at a steady rate there will be an even flow of water down the line which will find its own level. The only problem may be if there were any high spots in the line rather than a continuous fall. These would be where airlocks may occur and inhibit flow or set up a pulsing flow.

To get the pipe to run full is a relatively simple matter of artificially increasing the head-loss in the pipe which can be easily done by introducing chokes such as a partially closed valve to increase the head-loss and cause water to back up behind it.

If the section nearest the tank could be arranged to drop below the tank before rising to enter the tank then a section will be created that will always run full. The pipe velocity by my calcs is about 0.9 m/s which is only slightly below the normal range.

I trust that the spring will be protected in some way to prevent pollution.

Regards, Steve Oxtoby