IBM Taps Big Data to Help Solve Water Challenges Across South Africa
Apr 05, 2013
IBM announces the launch of a crowdsoucing project to help capture, share and analyze information about the water distribution system in South Africa. The project, called “WaterWatchers,” is driven by a new mobile phone application and SMS capability that will enable South African citizens to report water leaks, faulty water pipes and general conditions of water canals.
Every update will provide vital data points to an aggregated “WaterWatchers” report to create a single view of the issues challenging South Africa’s water distribution system.
The free app, which is currently available for Android and available for download at www.ibmwaterwatchers.co.za, and the SMS capability* together provide an easy way for anyone to collect and report issues on local waterways and pipes to a centralized portal. After taking a photo and answering three simple questions about the particular water canal or pipe, the data is uploaded in real-time to a central database. After 30 days, the data will be analyzed and aggregated into a meaningful “leak hot spot” map for South Africa.
“This project is about analyzing use, predicting demand and managing the future of our country’s water,” said IBM South Africa Smarter Planet Executive Ahmed Simjee. It’s a unique exercise in crowdsourcing for South Africa and we encourage every person to become a ‘citizen scientist’- to engage with the environment and help create a big picture map of our water leaks and issues. By enabling countless individuals to gather and submit data, WaterWatchers represents a new kind of data aggregation, analytics and visualization for water planners in South Africa – and is exactly the kind of Big Data challenge IBM excels at solving.”
IBM began exploring crowdsourcing to address water related issues in the city of San Jose, California, with its CreekWatch mobile app, which is still available and currently being used in more than 25 countries. WaterWatchers was adapted from the CreekWatch concept to include additional capabilities such as SMS and the ability to share photos on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
Under spending on water in South Africa has seen the department of water affairs increase spending by 20% to R9 billion ($900M USD) in 2011- 2012. Similarly, spending on water sector management has increased by 28.8% year on year over the same period and spending on water infrastructure management has risen by 13.2% year on year. But the pressure of urban population influx continues to place more strain on ageing water infrastructure. According to the 2011 Census, ninety-three percent of South African households had access to safe water in 2010 but only 45% of those with access to water actually had it in their homes.
A WaterWatchers report will be made available to local municipalities, water control boards and other water system stakeholders once the data is filtered appropriately. This could help local municipalities vizualise and prioritize improvements to city water infrastructure.
The WaterWatchers platform holds enormous potential for similar applications that can be used to monitor and report on just about any aspect of one’s environment: city services (report potholes, late buses), wildlife, noise pollution, air quality, weather and more.
“This project is a natural extension of the work we have done to address non-revenue water in Tshwane with IBM, and as the capital city we will lead the roll out of this program nationally,” said Tshwane Executive Mayor, Councillor Kgosientso Ramokgopa. “We challenge other cities to join the initiative and help manage this precious resource as best as we can.”
Interest in IBM’s Smarter Planet strategy to transform growing cities and address massive urbanisation in the South Africa has grown rapidly. The City of Johannesburg has strategically addressed its 2030 vision and partnered with IBM to develop a roadmap for Smarter Public Safety. The City of Tshwane has led the way in addressing water challenges, addressing ever increasing water scarcity and the requisite water conservation with a nine point plan developed by IBM Corporate Service Corps in 2011.
More News and Articles
Mar 27, 2024
News
USU Study Looks at Water Main Break Rates in the U.S. and Canada
Report Highlights Correlation Between Material and Diameter
Mar 26, 2024
News
Update BE-21: New Material in Course and Modules on Trenchless Pipe Installation
Online training on the topic of pipeline installation in civil engineering: Trenchless technology for underground drainage construction can be a resource-efficient, environmentally friendly, time-saving, and cost-effective alternative to open cut methods. The UNITRACC e-learning course "Utility Tunnelling" has been enhanced …
Mar 25, 2024
Article
Bacteria as a new weapon in wastewater treatment
In early November, San Diego based startup Aquacycl officially opened its first European office and test center at the Water Campus in Leeuwarden. The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) and the Investment and Development Agency for the Northern Netherlands (NOM) …
Mar 22, 2024
News
A superior HDD offering
Building on its relationships with leading horizontal directional drilling companies, TRACTO Australia has delivered three new rigs to operator Superior HDD.
Mar 20, 2024
News
New portable water filtration technology could improve access to clean drinking water worldwide
The University of Texas at Austin has developed an injectable water filtration system with the aim to aid the over two billion people worldwide who are without clean drinking water.
Mar 18, 2024
News
Global Student Innovation Challenge Calls on Next-Generation Leaders to Tackle Water Security
High School and University Students Worldwide Invited to Expand Water Access and Community Resilience
Mar 15, 2024
News
New water treatment wins Prestigious Award
Introducing a advancement in water treatment, developed by Cardiff University researchers in collaboration with Origin Aqua, the FreeOxTM technology has garnered acclaim by winning a prestigious challenge award at the World Water Tech Innovation Summit. This single-step process not only …
Mar 13, 2024
News
Satellite-based river monitoring technique could provide early warning of flooding
A satellite-based method for monitoring the flow of rivers from orbit could provide a valuable early warning system for flood risk, University of Glasgow researchers have claimed.
Mar 11, 2024
News
Revitalising infrastructure with HDD
Through the use of horizontal directional drilling, TasWater is delivering a new sewer pipeline to improve sewer and stormwater transfer capacity in Launceston, Tasmania.
Mar 06, 2024
News
Picking up the pace on climate action: Building momentum from COP28
At the halfway point of the Paris Agreement, the legally binding international treaty on climate action, average global temperatures are already hitting 1.8°C above pre-industrial levels and future projections are stark. At COP28 in December, we could not escape the reality …
Mar 01, 2024
News
Luminescent sensor detects ‘forever chemical’ pollution in water
Researchers in the UK and Germany have developed a new approach for detecting pollution from ‘forever chemicals’ in water through luminescence.
Feb 28, 2024
Article
BETT installation demonstrating GHG emissions reduction of wastewater treatment
This study presents BioElectrochemical Treatment Technology (BETT) as a new wastewater management solution toward the Net-Zero future. The results reported herein were collected from a BETT pilot system installed at a large brewery in Los Angeles, CA, United States processing …
Contact
IBM Corporation
Jenny Hunter
1 New Orchard Road
10504 Armonk, NY
United States
Phone:
+1 (720) 396-9420