Cell phones and water – an unlikely partnership

EWATERservices is a private water operator that uses mobile technology and the internet of things (IoT) to bring clean water to people. Consumers purchase eWATER credit through mobile money and IoT is used to track every litre dispensed and every dollar spent. This ensures that water systems are installed, operated and maintained.

Prepayment tags

Currently, every household in sub-Saharan Africa has at least one mobile phone and the economic burden of walking long distances or paying unregulated vendors is US$38 (R695) per month per person. The tags can be topped up with water credit in a variety of ways:

• phone users can buy credit through the eWATER pay app directly onto their tag

• a local shopkeeper – users can pay by cash to an approved vendor or water seller

• credit can be sent/received through digital payment services, allowing for family or donors in distant cities or countries to top up an individual’s tag from afar.

When the water tag touches the eWATER

Smart Tap, water is dispensed and credit is deducted through eWATER’s own cloud credit exchange. When the tag is removed, the water stops flowing and the customer is charged for only what they have collected.

Local eWATER staff run everything, the money is used by local technicians to ensure pipes don’t leak, the solar panels are cleaned and major repairs are done quickly. Every transaction is recorded on a blockchain ledger, so if someone pays for just 0.1 pence of water, the flow of revenue can be public and verifiable; this means every penny is accounted for and the eWATERcare monitoring dashboard is connected to the internet through a 1G or 2G phone signal, and it gives live updates on usage and system functionality.

Trial in the Gambia

Isle Utilities is an independent technology and innovation consultancy connecting water innovations with end-users. Using

In Wellingara Ba, Gambia, many homes and businesses have sprung to life, as people can now rely on the steady supply of water to keep them healthy and working loan funding from Isle Utilities’ Trial Reservoir Initiative, eWATER successfully installed a new water supply network into Wellingara Ba, a rural village in the Gambia.

The loan was for three eWATER Smart Taps to be installed as a trial with the hope that an average of 1 000 litres of clean water would be dispensed from each Smart Tap, each day. The three taps have dispensed an average of 4 579 litres per day over a two-month period.

Wellingara Ba is a large and rapidly growing village. Many houses there do not have access to clean water at their homes and people – usually women and girls – must travel to collect water as well as boil it to try to make it safe enough to drink. The trial is aimed at improving the quality of life for as many people as possible.

Since the trial started, eWATER has kept the water flowing. Each eWATER Smart Tap and system has required some maintenance throughout the trial. For example, during the rainy seasons, it is important to make sure the solar panels on top of each Smart Tap (which keep the IoT connectivity powered up) are kept free of blown leaves to maximise their efficiency because sunlight hours are reduced. eWATER ensured that such maintenance was carried out with the regularity required to keep the water flowing.

Throughout the trial period, there have been 23 364 users in the local communities, with over 273 Mℓ of water dispensed. This figure increases every second and the live data can be viewed here: https://commercial.ewater.services.

As well as providing 24/7 access to safe and clean water, eWATERservices employs and trains people in the local community to build, maintain and repair the systems. Additionally, administrative positions, such as accountants, are made available within the business.

The Smart Taps have had a huge impact on the local communities and a youth football team, consisting of 30 members, have decided to name themselves eWATER FC. This is because they were “grateful for the services we get from eWATER” and so named their team after the Smart Taps.