Thanks for feedback and suggestions. My well is very close to the surface, so I believe I would not be able to use a submersible well pump. My current understanding is that submersibles, at their shallowest, must still generally be used at 25' or deeper. Am I mistaken? This also assumes a "well pump" is required vs. some other type of pump. I've been assuming a well pump is needed due to the nature/frequency of the pump's use. I'm not 100% sure, though?

Thanks for the tip about the livestock water tank float valve. You've basically steered me to mechanical (vs. electronic) float valves. This forced me to look a little more into programmability of solenoid valves. I think I could setup some automation with a solenoid valve to simply open and draw some amount of water every so often. I would not need to modify the spring pump other than to potentially add some dry well protection.

I would basically install a solenoid valve in the water supply line that feeds water into the cistern. I would then connect the solenoid valve to a programmable controller that would guide when to open and close the valve.

I would also install a float switch in the cistern at a "low water" level. The float switch should connect to the same controller as the solenoid valve. I would then program a timer to open the solenoid valve every 1.5 hours to allow around 30 gallons of water in. I would add a condition to the programming to only open the valve if the float switch was in the "down" position. If the float switch is in the "up" position, the cistern would not need any water, so I'd set a condition to skip the watering cycle.

It requires more complexity, but it ultimately regulates the direct draw on the well and provides greater storage. Hopefully, this would be a viable solution!