Final answer:
The action of the water pump in organisms living in pond water can be reversed if the surrounding environment becomes hypertonic, causing water to flow into the cell by osmosis.
Step-by-step explanation:
Some organisms that live in pond water, such as freshwater protists like the paramecium, have a contractile vacuole that pumps excess water out of the cell. In this scenario, the action of the pump could be reversed if the surrounding environment becomes hypertonic, meaning it has a higher solute concentration than the cell. This would cause water to flow into the cell by osmosis, instead of being pumped out.