The University of Cape Town has developed and trialed software for reporting water quality results by mobile telephone.
The routine testing of drinking-water supplies in many areas of developing countries is hindered by the lack of adequate numbers of trained people in regional laboratories to go into the field to take samples; by the remote location of rural villages and towns; by the distances between the villages and towns; the poor quality of the roads outside the towns; and the requirement to return samples to the laboratory within a specific time of taking the sample. One solution, using simple test kits, is to provide support to communities to test their own water. However, providing support to carry out the tests is not sufficient; communities need to be able to report their results and receive feedback, or additional support, if the test indicates that there is a problem with the water.
The University of Cape Town has developed a system for reporting results and managing water quality data using mobile telephones. The following link will take you to a short video that demonstrates the system.
