Governments and water companies spend large sums of money each year on the repair of pipes and installation of new infrastructures, but the water problems continue.
The water industry seeks to harness the power of mobile phone technology in an attempt to provide smart solutions to current problems that remain persistent.
Service interruptions
India has more than 940 million phone users mobiles; however, only one in four of its 1,2 billion of people have access to drinking water in their homes. Millions of people do queue at public water pumps every day, often for hours due to damaged pipes or faulty taps.
NextDrop is a pioneer SMS messaging service in Bangalore and created by anu sridharan, which informs people of the anticipated delays or unexpected disruptions from service. Citizens can also receive text messages with updates on the alterations. The service is already enjoyed by more than 75.000 telephone users mobile.
IBM is a pioneer in a similar system. The Creek Watch app cross information from citizens about the height and flow velocity of local waterways, in addition to the amount of garbage. These public updates are made in real time in a centralized database, which are then used to perform a monitoring pollution and improving the general management of water resourcess. Initially launched in San Jose, California, the app now It is used in more than 25 countries.
Potable water
Around 760,00 children under the age of five die of diarrhea each year, usually caused by consuming contaminated food or water, which is the second leading cause of death for the little ones.
mWater aims to tackle the spread of diarrhea and other water-related diseases by citizen participation in water quality tests. The pilot, which is in the early stages, is based in Mwaza, the second largest city in Tanzania, where a study revealed that the 90 percent of wells and springs have fecal contamination.
The application uses the cameras of mobile phones, plus a $ 5 test kit, which automatically detects colonies of coliform bacteria and E. coli. The results are analyzed and shared with local communities via an online map of drinking water sources instantly.
Community health field workers can also feed the system, providing additional notes on the condition and status of water sourcesas well as details on the price and reliability of water.
Measures against drought
California fights for the third year in a row against a severe drought, conscientious homeowners can now use their phones to reduce your water consumption. Before, people had to wait until the bill came to understand their water usage. Now, a new application gives access to daily water consumption information.
dropcountr is an application that pursues reduce water consumption by one fifth from the current one, required directly by the state governor for Californians. The app includes alerts that warn customers before they get their «water consumption limit", as well as information on possible leaks.
The application can be used with any water meter system and by any public service of water from all over the world.
People can also use their phones to monitor neighbors. The social media service VizSafe allows phone owners submit anonymous reports on water waste.
Flood Hazard Warnings
The flood damage in the 136 largest cities on the coast of the world could reach 1.000 million before 2050. In the UK, smartphone users can access up-to-date information on flood risks in their specific area.
FloodAlerts, takes the data from the Environment Agency and show risks on a map. The developers of this application recently launched a service based on Twitter reporting on water levels of all the rivers in the UK.
With the application Plant Tracker, the Environment Agency encourages community members to send geolocated photos of non-native plant species found in rivers in the UK. This problem, which costs the UK economy £ 2.000 billion a year, you can block drains, disable water pumps, and disable dirt filters that reduce the risk of flooding.
