January 21, 2010
WaterAid's Water Point Mapper transforms water supply monitoring
WaterAid has launched a valuable tool that helps the development and upkeep of water facilities.
WaterAid's Water Point Mapper
The Water Point Mapper produces maps showing the distribution and status of water supply services across the world.
It is free for users and provides an efficient way to identify and
monitor which facilities are working, and where new ones are needed.
Vincent Casey, Technical Support Manager for WaterAid, said: "If the
Millennium Development Goal on water is to be met, there is a need to
both extend improved water supply coverage but, equally as important,
sustain it."
The Water Point Mapper enables communities and practitioners to stay informed so they can make the case for greater investment in improved and sustained coverage.
Vincent Casey, Technical Support Manager, WaterAid
"The Water Point Mapper aims to make the process of monitoring water
supply coverage more user-friendly, enabling communities and
practitioners to stay informed so they can make the case for greater
investment in improved and sustained coverage."
The tool thereby assists in the delivery of safe water facilities to
the 884 million people worldwide currently living without this basic
human right.
The accessible and easy-to-use mapping tool was officially launched
to a wide range of water and sanitation practitioners at the Stockholm
International Water Week in September 2010.
It has already been recognized for its innovation and benefit to international development by being named as one of the Top 20 big ideas that don’t cost the earth by AlertNet, the Thomson Reuters humanitarian news site.
So how does it work?
The monitoring and mapping of rural water supply services in Sub-Saharan Africa has been a complex process up to now, involving the use
of expensive Geographical Information System based software tools.
The skills and finances required to operate these tools frequently do
not exist at local government levels where maps and monitoring
information relating to water supplies are most valuable.
The Water Point Mapper, however, can be used in conditions where
there is minimal computer literacy and no internet connectivity. It is
based on a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet that generates maps that can be
viewed offline in Google Earth.
Essentially, the tool aims to put information and maps into the hands of local level planners who need it most.
Different uses of the Mapper
The Water Point Mapper can be used to highlight:
- Service sustainability: identifying water sources that are no longer functional
- Equity and inclusion: showing the distribution of improved water sources so that inequalities in services can be identified
- Accessibility: showing the distance communities must travel to find the nearest improved water source
- Finance and planning needs: identifying areas where investments are needed
- Water quality: mapping any contaminated water sources.
Visit the Water Point Mapper here (link opens in new window).