Too Roman.
I was really just throwing the idea out there tongue and cheek. But seriously, gravity is free and works pretty well. I don’t see why it may not be viable in some situations and I sure we could improve on the 2000 year old solution to moving water where it was needed.
There are small generators which use the mill race concept to elevate the water and let it fall through a turbine to generate power. I think that is the kind of green solution that makes more sense than windmills provided the geography and weather are right.