Source: UN News: Monday, July 27, 2026 00:00 AM
A nature-inspired technology is turning ordinary hand pumps into a source of safe drinking water in flood-prone areas of India. The device purifies water without electricity, chemicals, filters or membranes and is helping protect underprivileged communities from waterborne diseases. In flood-prone areas such as Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh and Begusarai in Bihar, local water sources often become seriously contaminated during monsoon, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases. To strengthen preparedness to deal with emergency situations, United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and its partners have installed the patented ‘Maji: Taraltec® reactor’ in hand pumps in 20 villages. Inspired by the snapping shrimp The technology is inspired by a small sea creature called the snapping shrimp, which produces powerful shock waves by rapidly closing its claws. The reactor also uses a similar physical process called ‘kinetic cavitation’. When the hand pump is operated, water flows in several strong streams inside the device. Due to this, the water pressure suddenly reduces and small bubbles are formed. As soon as the pressure returns to normal, these bubbles rapidly shrink and break and generate shock waves of powerful speed. According to UNICEF, these shock waves physically damage and destroy more than 99 percent of the microorganisms present in water. Waterborne viruses use these microorganisms as their carriers, so with their destruction the viruses also get eliminated. This targeted physical process helps protect communities from approximately 90 percent of waterborne diseases, including diarrhea, cholera, typhoid and dysentery. This reactor does not require electricity, chemicals, filters or membranes to operate. © UNICEF This device easily fits into existing community water systems. Mumbai-based Taraltec Solutions has developed this small device in such a way that it can be easily fitted into the hand pumps already used by the communities. Therefore, people do not need to change the way of filling water or adopt any new purification process. The reactor can be installed in India Mark II and Mark III hand pumps. These two models account for more than 95 percent of hand pumps used worldwide, so this technology has the potential to be adopted in other developing countries as well. It is also easy to install. A local plumber, without any special training or tools, can install the device in less than an hour by removing seven simple bolts of the hand pump. This ‘set and forget’ system is particularly useful in rural and deprived communities where technical support and spare parts are not easily available. © UNICEF A chemical-free reactor inspired by nature is turning ordinary hand pumps into life-saving water-purification systems in flood-hit India. Low cost, long-term benefitsEach reactor costs about $95 and is a one-time expense. According to UNICEF, the equipment does not require maintenance. It does not require electricity, chemicals or frequently replaced parts to operate, hence its operation does not produce carbon emissions and the cost per liter of pure water remains very low. It can be installed in existing hand pumps, hence there is no need to build a new water supply system. International recognition This reactor has received international recognition for its unique engineering and design inspired by nature. It has been given the ‘Future of the Future’ award by the Deutsches Museum in Nuremberg, Germany. This innovation shows that scientific technology can be combined with existing local facilities to create practical solutions to protect communities struggling with floods and contaminated water sources from waterborne diseases.