Global Water Hackathon

“Pollution is much more than an environmental challenge – it is a profound and pervasive threat that affects many aspects of human health and wellbeing.” –Philip Landrigan. In 2015, over 1.8 million deaths were caused due to water pollution alone, compared to 1.2 million due to road accidents and 940,000 due to AIDS.

Create solutions to fight water pollution at all levels - from water filtration and treatment to post-pollution control.

Many areas around the world survive on natural water supplies like wells, ponds, dugouts, and lakes. In such cases, testing the quality of water becomes vital as it directly affects the health of all individuals involved. The water quality may deteriorate over time or suddenly, and most of the times, the change goes undetected. Continuous water quality testing determines specific issues and ensures the safety of the water.

Build solutions that allow efficient testing of water sources or bodies to determine the safety level of water.

With water constituting over 60% of the human body, it is of utmost importance to ensure that the water we use is clean, safe, and pure. Community efforts, thus, play a vital role in not just creating awareness around water purity but also taking appropriate steps to ensure safety.

Leverage technology to bring communities closer, build support groups, and increase community awareness about water safety, its importance, and the steps required to ensure it.

"One in nine people around the world do not have access to clean water close to home, and 60% of the world's population lives in areas of water stress, where the water supply cannot or will not continue to meet demand.", says a report by WaterAid. It also says that more than 800 million people need to travel and queue for at least 30 minutes to access safe supplies.

With most major cities suffering from acute water scarcity, leverage the power of technology to create solutions that increase the efficiency of water use.

Do you have ideas that don't exactly fit under any of the aforementioned themes? You can submit those under this category.