Here on the coastal plain the soil conditions and water table make shallow well pumps possible. I have a shallow well in my backyard which I use to water my garden. Until recently I used a pitcher pump and elbow grease to pump water. Yes I have pumped thousands of gallons of water by hand. Not any more. My dad put together a very simple shallow well pump which uses a 45 watt solar planel, 65 watt DC water pump with a 23' lift capability and bits and pieces of plumbing paraphanalia. Copying his design I installed a simple solar shallow well pump last week. I absolutely love it...so does my arm! I keep my gardens watered, my little dragonfly pond topped off and it is a great conversation piece. I put together a non commercial flash slideshow/video of the pump. Maybe some of you could use a system like this to pump from a shallow well, pond, river or use it to aereate a pond. Here is the link to the video. http://www.redbayfarm.com/files/solarwaterpump.swf
FYI, Solar Water Pumping - Solar Electric Power Discussion Forum by Northern Arizona Wind & Sun Whole long list of thread and information on solar water pumping. T