Mobile App Created for Reporting Water Leaks in Public Places in Azerbaijan

On April 23, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources hosted the presentation of Hydro Heroes, a mobile application designed for reporting water leaks in public places.

The app, developed in partnership between the IDEA Public Union and the UNDP-GEF Kura II Project, in collaboration with the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and Azersu OJSC, was introduced to the public on Earth Day, celebrated globally.

It should be noted that the initiative to create a mobile app for engaging the public in water loss prevention was proposed by Leyla Aliyeva, Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and Founder of the IDEA Public Union, during the Youth Forum held on June 5, 2018, for World Environment Day. Subsequently, IDEA and the UNDP-GEF Kura II Project decided to jointly develop such an app.

As is known, in most countries, water losses in supply systems range from 20% to 70%. This means that a significant portion of treated drinking water is lost due to accidents and malfunctions in distribution networks, not reaching users. This results in the loss of funds spent on water treatment, damage to public infrastructure, and further depletion of already limited fresh water resources due to global warming and increasing world population.

The Hydro Heroes app, aimed at water conservation, allows Azerbaijani citizens to use geolocation to send information and images of water leaks directly to the relevant authorities from their mobile phones and receive responses regarding the resolution of the issue. This app will help significantly reduce the time required to address water leaks in supply networks and water loss.

Additionally, the app includes entertaining and educational features related to water and water conservation, such as water-related tests and games, 360-degree videos of various water bodies in the Kura Basin in Azerbaijan, augmented reality (AR) features, a water consumption calculator, and more.

The app will be available on both Android and IOS platforms.

Hydro Heroes was developed with support from the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and AzInTelecom LLC.

Project partners encourage all smartphone users to download the Hydro Heroes app and contribute to efforts to reduce water loss.