About

 

WaterInsights is an innovative award-winning citizen science project for freshwater monitoring. Use our testing kit to monitor the water in your school, home, or neighborhood creek. Upload your data to our web-based platform to help us gather and share data from around the world. 

 

OUR STORY

WaterInsights began when Sahithi Pingali, a 16-year-old student in Bangalore, India, saw a lake near her home foaming and catching fire. Shocked and intrigued, she started a science project to monitor the pollutants in the lake. She learned that 80% of India’s surface freshwater is contaminated; 40% of lakes in the United States are too polluted for aquatic life. Every day, 2 million tonnes of waste are discharged into the world’s water bodies.

Recognizing the need for action, Sahithi designed a project to engage people around the world in water quality monitoring. She wants communities to have access to the information, materials, and data necessary to understand local water quality issues. Generating these datasets helps communities connect to the process of science and explore human impacts on aquatic ecosystems.

What started out as a high school science project has received international awards and media coverage, and was featured in the Peabody award-winning film Inventing Tomorrow. We continue to develop and refine the methods and technology used to collect WaterInsights data, and Sahithi and her team need your help! 

 

GET INVOLVED


We need your help to raise water health awareness and collect data that can inform actions to protect freshwater sources.

The best way to get involved is to order a testing kit and collect freshwater quality data from a source near you! After you perform a test, upload the results to our database on the WaterInsights submit data page. Your measurements will join data collected by other testers all over the world that can be used to understand variation in freshwater quality and the challenges communities are facing across the globe.

Get your school or community involved by ordering a classroom kit, which comes with 40 tests and our educational resources!

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

When you order a WaterInsights classroom kit, we provide a sequence of four, 1-hour lesson plans about water quality and testing. During the lessons, students collect and share data with others around the world and think about how to take action locally to protect freshwater sources.  The lessons engage students in the process of science and are responsive to high school NGSS standards (modifiable for lower grade levels) about environmental science, chemistry and biology. 

WaterInsights is still evolving! By engaging your students in water testing, you help us test our methods, extend our reach, and learn how to connect with communities around the world. 

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

 

Our Partners & Sponsors