Since waterwheels are relatively easy to build, they are an assessable power source for many places in the world. For example, a waterwheel completely changed the lives of villagers in Kedungsumur Village (Probolinggo, Indonesia), when it provided energy for a water pump.
https://earthbuddies.net/water-wheels-changed-whole-villages/
People are also trying different ways of using this old tech. For example: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kA_zNhyN6Fw
https://youtu.be/XjEgFlngZ04
https://youtu.be/S6oNxckjEiE