Desalination remains an important possibility to produce water especially in regions where rainfall is scarce. Unfortunately desalination is an energy intensive operation whereas conventional fuel resources of many countries in the world are going to run out in a few years. The development of solar energy particularly for the purpose of sea brackish water desalination seems to be the best choice for these countries Our laboratory has contracted for a research program, with the financial support of the Secretary of State for Research and Technology, a prototype of desalination unit coupled to a 1500m(2) solar pond. In this paper we present some results obtained with a laboratory set up working under different conditions: temperature of brackish water and its flow rate, vacuum inside the evaporator chamber and spray methods, etc.... Compilation of these results shows that 150 l/h of distilled water can be reached with only lm(2) surface at 70 degrees C. A numerical simulation of the whole system, based on experimental results obtained separately with the pond and the desalination unit, proves the competitivity of this technology.