Water is diverted from the river by Warleigh Weir, about upstream. The water flows to the pumping station down a wide leat, which is crossed by a single segmental arch bridge with a central keystone. The water passes over depressing sluices which can be raised or lowered by hand cranking, and then powers a breastshot water wheel. The wide wheel is in two sections each wide and in diameter with a gap between them. The wheel has 48 wooden starts on each of the six cast iron rims. These starts support 96 float boards each of which is by by , and is paired with a seal seal board bolted directly to the rim. The original timber selection for the wheel is not known, but since 1983 the starts have been made from Iroko due to its longevity even in conditions where it is cycled between submerged and dry due to intermittent running. The breastshot wheel is vertically mounted, and falling water strikes the blades. Breastshot wheels are less efficient than backshot or overshot wheels, more efficient than undershot wheels.