Can I generate electricity from the fast flowing river at the end of my Garden?

[Frank Sebem]

Hi all

So, there I was watching how it’s made and I thought… Hey, I wonder if I can harness the power of that river that runs down the bottom of our Garden. 
I live in North West UK where it rains a lot. During heavy rain the river at the end of my garden flows very fast. I say ‘river’. It is about 2 feet wide. A man could just about put one foot either side of this river without getting wet feet. In dry periods the river is a slow running stream but in rain it is very fast flowing. About 1 deep and 3 feet across. I just wanted to know if I could make electricity? So, you guys can probably see that I am a total newbie. Any advice here? 
thanks all. 

[exchemist]

5 minutes ago, Frank Sebem said:

Hi all

So, there I was watching how it’s made and I thought… Hey, I wonder if I can harness the power of that river that runs down the bottom of our Garden. 
I live in North West UK where it rains a lot. During heavy rain the river at the end of my garden flows very fast. I say ‘river’. It is about 2 feet wide. A man could just about put one foot either side of this river without getting wet feet. In dry periods the river is a slow running stream but in rain it is very fast flowing. About 1 deep and 3 feet across. I just wanted to know if I could make electricity? So, you guys can probably see that I am a total newbie. Any advice here? 
thanks all. 

You could put a water wheel in it and get some power out, perhaps enough to light some LEDs. 

[dimreepr]

2 hours ago, exchemist said:

You could put a water wheel in it and get some power out, perhaps enough to light some LEDs. 

Depends on the size/efficiency of the wheel, we used to grind corn with that technology; and when we realised a drop/waterfall would significantly increase the output, we built our world around it.

Edited January 13 by dimreepr

[Peterkin]

Sure you can, even from a very little stream, as long as it keeps moving. But how much power it gives you depends on the equipment you use, the volume of water and speed of the current. Your biggest problem may be elevation: ideally, there should be a considerable fall.

http://ergysaver/planning-microhydropower-system

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjEgFlngZ04