Digital Sustainability

In the CrowdWater project, Fraunhofer FIT is working with municipal and commercial partners to develop a decentralized water data platform that provides precise information on regional water volumes, their use and the impact of measures to reduce water consumption. To collect the data, the project links smart measuring devices with digital tools in an IoT network. The data platform aims to support households and companies with strategies for more sustainable water use.

CrowdWater – Crowd-based Monitoring and Forecasting for Sustainable Rain and Drinking Water Use is a federally funded project that responds to the increasing scarcity of water as a result of climate change. Although there is currently sufficient drinking water in Germany, groundwater levels are declining as a result of global warming. According to the Federal Environment Agency, one reason for this is the decreasing absorption and storage capacity of the soil due to severe climate events. Today, details of this development and its consequences for specific areas are difficult to assess, as there is no reliable information on water quantities and the influence of water saving measures at the regional level.

The realities of consumers' everyday lives and their experiences play a central role in the research into resource-conserving water use. This is why the approximately test households in the CrowdWater Living Lab form a fundamental part of the project. A living lab is a virtual research laboratory under real-life conditions in which research and the application of its results are closely interlinked. In the CrowdWater Living Lab, our test households and the researchers develop new strategies for water use based on recurring interviews and measurements.

The CrowdWater Water Data Platform collects and processes various sensor data on the water use cycle. It also includes data on the precipitation in the urban areas of Troisdorf, Hennef and Kirchen. Thus the project allows to make better recommendations for the use of rainwater. The data platform provides the participants in the project with information on their water consumption and possible leakages as well as information on their potential savings. Another benefit is that water companies can target their pipeline maintenance and repair work more precisely. The project consortium intends to analyze the households’ water use more thoroughly in the future and to gain a better understanding of individual strategies to reduce water consumption. The aim is to empower consumers to make decisions in the interests of sustainability and thus help shape a future that conserves resources.