In most countries municipal water losses are between 20-70%. That is 20-70% of clean, treated water that leaks into streets, and public spaces. This is not only throwing away money for treatment of the water, it also seriously degrades public infrastructure. Fresh water is becoming scarcer and more precious. But what is a person to do? 

The Hydro-Heroes Water Saving App is an opportunity to empower stakeholders to report water leakages from their mobile phones directly to the municipal water companies and learn about conserving water in the process. It is like “Pokemon Go, but saving the world, one drop at a time”. The app is targeted for youth aged 14-35, but can be used by anyone to report leakages using mobile phones and geolocation, linking in to the on-line system that municipal water companies current have. Games within the app can be used by all ages.

The Hydro Heroes Water Saving App will link as an educational and entertainment app that will be used with social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, What’sApp.

It is further envisioned to include an educational platform in this app, “The Hydro-Heroes Challenge,” which will encourage youth to learn about water saving tips and techniques. The Hydro Hero’s app results will be shared on social media through, etc. It will be globally alterable, and work on iOS and Android.

The Hydro-Hero’s App, developed in a partnership with Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources(Azerbaijan), Azersu JSC,  IDEA and the UNDP-GEF Kura II Project, will enable the public to report leaks using geo-location. 

Features of the App will include:

Gamification of water leak reporting by users

• Game for identifying and reporting link – PokemonGo but saving water one drop at a time – linked to social media

It is envisioned that the app will include features such as allowing the players to upload photos, receive a notification when the report has been received by the municipal water authorities (AzerSu in Azerbaijan), and receive a notification from the company when the repair has been made. It will also allow the users to take photos of the repair and to acknowledge the work of the municipal water company by thanking the work crews. Thus, the workers and AzerSu/the municipal water supply company are acknowledged for their contribution in saving water. – This will be shared with Social Media. The App developer will be responsible for coordination with AzerSu, with support of the Kura II Project Management and IDEA.

Augmented Reality for the Kura Box with information about the Kura Basin

• To boost interest and attract users to use the app and access the Kura Box (also available in Azerbaijani language)

Gamification of activities in the Kura Box for age groups from under 10 to adult 

Gamification of water cycle following a drop through various aspects of the water cycle – using phone level to allow user to guide the drop

Water Hacks

• Shower timer for playing music on phone set to specific time (5 min maximum) for water savings
• Water sounds for relaxation 
• Daily/weekly water hacks conservation and water quality care reminders- pop-ups and 
• Ability for users to make water saving hack recommendations

Videos for Users to be made by firm

8 short videos on water savings, water quality management, nature-based solutions, etc. 

• 3-D tours of waste water treatment plant and drinking water treatment plant 

• 3-D tour of Kura River Basin selected spots with “a tour of the river”
• 3-D tour of water pumping stations
• 3-D tour of water saving technologies – drip irrigation, low flow toilets, showerheads etc
• Videos made by Project Communications team to be uploaded to the App

The app will be developed and tested and refined in Azerbaijani and English with the strong support of IDEA, and then tested for alterability in Georgia with the United Water Supply Company of Georgia with translation into Georgian. The language of the user interface on the app must be easy to change in order to ensure the applicability across countries and locations. Once tested in Azerbaijan and Georgia, it will be shared more widely for global distribution. User statistics via analytics must also be included to enable oversite of number of reports created, sub app uses, etc. 

For more information about the Kura Project in English, Azerbaijani, and Georgian