Aquappolis: Mobile application for rainwater harvesting in Mexico City

Abstract

Rainwater harvesting has become a necessary action around the world to satisfy the big cities needs where the water access is restrained (Shivakumar, 2017), which is the case of Mexico City where the water demand exceeds the supply sources, and many other problems are related to water (Arto-Olaizola et al., 2016). Aquappolis is a mobile application intended to compute the amount of rainwater that can be harvested from specific zones in Mexico City. The app information is provided from extensive rain gauge network data collected from Hydrological Observatory stations across Mexico City. This paper provides an example of how the technological innovation and instant information available for decision maker authorities and general population are indispensable to achieve a responsible, careful, and sustainable management of available water resources in Mexico´s Valley.