In my experience an air lift is a vertical pipe with a smaller pipe or hose beside it and a U-shaped tube to jet the air up into the big pipe. The assembly is lowered to the bottom of a water-filled excavation or a slurry-filled pier hole. When the air is turned on, water and air will spew out the top, bringing mud, gravel, even cobbles with it. It is a tool for cleaning the bottom of a pier or a cofferdam. It can also be used to remove slurry that has become too sandy while adding fresh slurry at the top.