USAID – Tanzania: Mwanza Using Mobile Technology to Monitor Quality of Water | Source: AllAfrica.com, Aug 10, 2013 |
A project to map water sources and record test results using mobile phones to improve the supply of water to over half a million people of Rock City is making progress.
The project is sponsored by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Mwanza Urban Water and Sewerage Authority. 
“In 2012, mWater and UN HABITAT collaborated with MWAUWASA and Mwanza City Council to conduct a study to demonstrate the scientific validity of low cost tests of the mWater applications for mobile smartphones, which maps out water sources and records their water test results,” mWater said in a statement.
The scope of the mWater and USAID project is to work with local stakeholders in Mwanza to establish a demand for water quality information and to build local capacity to map and monitor water sources, the statement adds.
The project implemented under the Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) Programme, seeks to identify innovative approaches to water development. “The knowledge and lessons generated by this project will be used to expand the availability of low-cost tools for water quality monitoring and mapping in other regions and countries.
Water will provide free smartphones, airtime and an initial supply of test kits to incentivize participation,” mWater news released notes. Under the project a mobile phone-based system for monitoring drinking water services and quality is being managed by Ward health officers who have been given the task of effective monitoring the quality of using low-cost tests.
Expected benefits include developing capacity to respond to concerns over water quality and related health issues and improve communication between Ward officers and public health officials in managing the resource.
Water is a non-profit organisation based in the United States, dedicated to using technology to improve access to safe water and sanitation. The organisation is currently investigating the feasibility of installing a permanent water monitoring system within the existing funding and workforce capacity.
The country’s second largest city with a population of over half a million is facing several obstacles including rapidly increasing demand due to urbanisation and population growth, inadequate services in peri-urban areas where many residents still rely on traditional water sources and a lack of public awareness of the health benefits of clean water.
