The most common pump used for a shallow water well pumping is a jet pump.
Jet pumps are mounted above the well, either in the home or in a well house, and draw the water up from the well through suction. Because suction is involved, atmospheric pressure is what’s really doing the work. As the pressure builds, you create a vacuum in the tube above the water. Once the vacuum is there, the weight of the air, or atmospheric pressure, pushes the water up the straw. Consequently, the height that you can lift the water with a shallow-well jet pump relates to the weight of the air. While air pressure varies with elevation, it’s common to limit the depth of a jet-pump-operated shallow well to about 25 ft.