As a water authority manager, it is of great importance to be aware of issues of concern as they arise. This, however, is not always possible for a variety of reasons including: water quality tests are done in remote places, with no access to the internet; certain sites are far removed from laboratories, meaning that weeks or months may pass from the time the test is done in a laboratory to delivery of the results to the municipality.  A need therefore exists for a tool that allows water authorities and regulators (and even civil) to be made aware of issues of concern.

eMWAP, the electronic Mobile Web Application is such a tool. eMWAP allows one to effectively manage water quality and other water related issues immediately and anywhere via a mobile phone.  The technology behind eMWAP is a simple interface using a USSD based application which is suitable for all mobile phones.  As a starting point, eMWAP has been configured for water quality and quantity results, but, various other data types/surveys/quizzes could potentially be conducted using this technology.

Making use of simple field test kits (e.g. measure for pH, turbidity, etc.) and loading data at the sample location via a mobile phone by simply dialling *120*92837# one can: (1) capture water quality analysis performed in remote places by means of a mobile phone (2) capture water quality results from remote places on a database without the need for internet access (3) receive immediate feedback on the water quality status of samples taken (4) receive automated communications of issues of concern (5) integrate data into a dedicated website to review the status regarding the number of samples collected, compliance, failures, etc.

For more info go to www.emwap.co.za.