The Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience at the University of Colorado Boulder in the United States, the Millennium Water Alliance (MWA) and Virridy, a company that specialises in manufacturing water monitoring technology, are collaborating in a new partnership in Africa. The initiative aims to improve service to vulnerable populations in the face of drought.
The Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience at the University of Colorado Boulder, the Millennium Water Alliance (MWA) and Virridy, a company that specialises in manufacturing water monitoring technologies, recently launched a project on the African continent. The initiative focuses on equipping water facilities, including boreholes, with sensors.
The sensors manufactured by Virridy are linked to satellites, allowing government agencies responsible for maintaining water facilities to monitor the quantity of water for better distribution. This ensures that communities have continued access to water for livestock and crops in the face of increasing drought. This is the cause of the current water stress in Africa.
Kenya and Ethiopia are already using Virridy’s sensors. According to the US company, the equipment will also be deployed in other African countries over the next 12 months. In June 2022, Virridy completed a $5.5 million Series A funding round to accelerate the development of its satellite-connected sensors.
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As part of the recently launched partnership, the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience at the University of Colorado Boulder will build the capacity of experts in recipient African states on methods, tools and assessments to improve water services. The alliance will also combine MWA’s on-the-ground partnerships with African water service providers and communities.
The success of this partnership will bring beneficiary countries closer to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which includes universal access to water by 2030.
Inès Magoum
