The head-capacity corves for pumps developed by the pump manufacturer are based on tests of a single pump operating in a semi-infinite pool with no nearby walls or floors and with no stray currents. Hence, flow into the pump suction is symmetrical with no vortices or swirling. Pump station designers rely on these curves to define the operating conditions for the pump selected. However, various constraints such as size, cost, and limitations on storage time require walls, floors, and pump intakes to be close proximity to each other. From this background, the authors are carrying out a systematic study on the flow characteristics of intakes within a sump found in pump stations. Model pump intake basin is designed and PIV is adopted as a measuring tool to capture the instantaneous flow patterns. Special attention is paid to investigate the flow patterns near the free surface, side-wall, and back-wall due to different clearances from back-wall to vortical intake pipe. Moreover, the locations and patterns of the various types of vortices that were found in the examinations are discussed.