mWater’s Impacts

Last updated: March 2026

mWater is the most widely used free data platform in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector. Since 2012, governments, utilities, NGOs, researchers, and community organizations have used mWater to collect, manage, analyze, and share data that drives improved water and sanitation services. Through mapping digital infrastructure, public servants and their stakeholders are able to grow impact and efficiency with data-driven management.

How the Data Creates Change

  • Governments plan and budget for water and sanitation infrastructure with evidence rather than estimates

  • National and regional authorities track progress toward SDG 6, understanding where gaps remain and making the case for investment

  • Utilities monitor revenue, asset condition, and service coverage in real time, catching problems before they become crises

  • Water quality surveillance, E. coli testing, and contamination risk assessment protect the communities most vulnerable to waterborne disease

  • When disasters strike, response teams use mWater for rapid infrastructure assessments, getting resources where they are needed faster

  • Researchers at universities worldwide rely on the platform for rigorous, affordable data collection, strengthening the evidence base that shapes sector policy

  • Donors and development finance institutions can see where investment is most needed and where it is most likely to deliver lasting results

Here is a snapshot of the platform's reach and impact as of the end of Q1 2026:

Platform Cumulative Reach

MetricFigure
Countries and territories served198
Registered user accounts360,000+
Organizations signed up7,000+
Survey forms designed200,000+
Survey responses submitted46,000,000+
Languages supported28

Daily Platform Activity

MetricPer Day
Survey responses submitted60,000+
Images uploaded from the field50,000+
Infrastructure sites mapped5,000+
New user accounts200

Monitoring Public Infrastructure

MetricSites mappedEstimated Population Served*
Water points1,700,000+425,000,000
Water systems100,000+30,000,000
Sanitation facilities380,000+1,900,000
Schools175,000+70,000,000
Health facilities42,000+420,000,000
Total2,397,000+900,000,000

Note: Above are the key site types tracked. However, there are 6,700,000 sites mapped altogether in the platform, including household and other types.

* Methodology: Estimated population served based on the standard JMP classifications for beneficiary reach: 250 people for each water point, 300 for each water system, 5 per sanitation facility, 400 per school, and 10,000 per mapped health facility.

Partners & Reach

Over 7,000 organizations use the mWater platform, spanning governments, water utilities, international organizations, NGOs, academic institutions, and community-based service providers.

International organizations and donors: UNICEF (Angola, Madagascar, LIXIL partnership monitoring), the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation (Uganda district mapping), USAID (Haiti water and sanitation, 19 Counties of Kenya under STAWI, Indonesia IUWASH PLUS)

NGOs and implementing partners: WaterAid (national WASH monitoring across multiple countries), World Vision, Water.org, charity: water, Water for People, The Water Project, Safe Water Network, Medair, IRC WASH (RapidWASH partnership), Water Mission, Dig Deep / Dig Deep Africa, BASEflow Malawi, and many more.

Government deployments: Angola (national cholera MIS), Guinea-Bissau, Haiti (all urban water utilities), Indonesia, Kenya (19 counties), Kiribati, Madagascar, Malawi, Papua New Guinea (first national WASH monitoring system), Uganda (district-wide water point mapping), Zimbabwe.

Public-Private Partnerships: CRS (Azure digital water service provider platform), Water4

Research and academic use: Researchers at universities worldwide who use the platform for affordable, rigorous field data collection

See the Blog for various Data Deep Dives to learn more.