[[Image:Handpump.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Liquid Gold - Children in the Central African Republic pump clean water from underground. Photo: Marielle van Uitert.]]
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Many different kinds of handpumps are frequently installed on hand-dug wells and boreholes in rural areas, including many drought-prone areas. They facilitate a contamination-free method to extract water. Most pumps are positive displacement pumps and have reciprocating pistons or plungers.
'''Suction pumps'''<br>
[[Image:rower pump.jpg|thumb|right|200px| The Rower Pump is a suction pump in which the piston is directly activated. Photo: [http://www.rural-water-supply.net/en/implementation/handpumppublic-overviewdomain-handpumps/rower-pump RWSN.]]]
In a suction pump, the cylinder is above the water table, usually near the top of the pump head. The rising main extends below the water table. When the pump is operated, during the upwards stroke it appears that water gets “sucked up” through the rising main into the cylinder. In fact, the atmospheric pressure forces the water into the area of low pressure underneath the piston. The theoretical limit to which the atmospheric pressure can push up water is 10 metres (m). In practice, suction pumps can be used to lift water up to about 7 or 8 m.
'''Lever Action handpump'''<br>
[[Image:bush pump.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The Bush pump is a lever action pump that can handle heavier usage by many people. Photo: [http://www.rural-water-supply.net/en/implementation/handpumppublic-overviewdomain-handpumps/bush-pump RWSN.]]]
Most deep-well handpumps are of the lever action type. The increased length of the water column in deep boreholes requires more effort to draw water and the lever of the handle makes the operation easier. Besides the conventional handle, there are also pump designs, which use a flywheel to operate a crankshaft for transforming the rotation into an up-and-down movement.
===Acknowledgements===
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