Disclaimer:

City Water has been conceived as a tool to address water access crisis in countries under high water stress specifically (ex. Jordan, Syria, Iraq, etc.), but could be developped to address climate change crisis anywhere in the world. It is a tool aimed at coordinating an appropriate response from emergency teams during a crisis in order to provide citizens with a specific ressource, such as water or clothing.

Please take note of this information beforehand:

There are multiple ways to address a water crisis in a country under high water stress. Here are the most common ways to do so:

• Control when water is available through public aqueduc system (open/close)
• Limit how much water a customer can buy at a local store
• Limit how much water a citizen can get at a local water well
• Ask the citizens to get water from a lake or a river and to boil it

What did you develop? 

City Water is an app that is specifically designed to help coordinate an appropriate response to a water crisis in a country where the water stress is high (ex. Irak, Syria, etc.).

Why is it important?

City Water is a tool that can help reduce the amount of time needed before a decision is made regarding water distribution in a city. This tool makes water management easier to do and is therefore improving water access for people in need during a time of crisis.

What does it do?

The main goal of the app is to output relevant information and to present it visually in a way that is efficient for fast decision making. City Water is a tool used to identify in a single blink where the water alerts are in a city and what needs to be done to address a crisis properly in a specific location. City Water is also a tool to upload local information in order update data in realtime and to share latest water status updates within the community.

City Water can:

• Determines from realtime data if a water alert must be declared in a specific area
• Determines from realtime data what is the quantity of water that is available per person per day
• Keeps track of alerts status
• Keeps track of water sources status
• Keeps track of water distribution status
• Allows all users to report water problems (contamination, aqueduc breakage, etc.)
• Allows all users to see where they can access water and how
• Allows some users to declare water alerts
• Allows some users to inform the population of new measures taken to address the crisis
• Allows some users to share data about water quantity status
• and more

How does it work?

Three types of users are required for the app to work to its maximum efficiency: city workers, shop owners and citizens.

The first type of user is a person responsible for water management in a city, such as a water engineer or a mayor. The app will ask the user to enter an id and then will open to the main page. On the main page the user can see a lot of information all at once in an organised manner; this information will inform the city worker about which access point is no longer available, how much water each citizen should be given each day in order to share the water equally between the population, get the latest alert updates and identify if emergency teams should be deployed at different water wells.

On this main page, the city worker also has access to different buttons that can let him decide which actions to take. For example, the mayor can decide to send a directive to all or only some shop owners about water limits and for how long they have to comply to a new rule about water distribution. The mayor could decide to declare a new alert or to identify which stores does not comply with the new rules during a crisis. The mayor could also decide to send an important message to the citizens.

The second type of user are the shop owners. The shop owners can receive notification when new directives have been send by the mayor. By having an individual identification code, a shop owner can confirm if his shop respects the new directive. The shop owner can also see in realtime the water available in his store and manage the water distribution more easily. An update button is available for the shop owner to inform the users about that status of his shop (ex. to confirm to shop is now empty of water and is no longer an available water source).

The third type of user are the citizens. The citizens can access the app but do not have the same buttons as the city workers or the shop owners. There is a report button where they can signal a water problem to the authorities. On the map the citizens can see which water access point is the closest to them and also if that water access point is no longer available. The citizen is also informed about the new directives the mayor may have decided or other messages send from the autorities.

What do you hope to achieve?

City Water is a tool that can help city workers to organise and to know in realtime how much water is available in a city and how many citizens need to access that water during a time of crisis. The faster the mayor can take a decision, the faster the directive can be send to shop owners and the faster water control is implemented. Efficient water control measures imply that every citizen can access the amount of water that they are entitled to because the control measures are being put in place very early during the crisis. City Water is also used to keep track in realtime of the water acces points status (shops, wells, waterplants) and provides information about wether or not a shop is now empty of water or if a well is contaminated. This can help to manage where to send the citizens that need water. It also helps the mayor to determine for how long the crisis will be maintain and therefore have a better understanding of the current situation, both in terms of water quantity and accessibility, but also have in terms of time perspective.

The main idea is that if the citizens do not have proper access to water, then the population is at risk of a civil war and other forms of violence within their community. By offering a tool that can help address a very sensitive and complicated situation that concerns human survival, then maybe lives can be saved or protected.