USAID Invests In Water Venture

El Paso couple’s app tackles water crisis

The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, has invested $100,000 in mWater, a non-profit tech startup founded by two El Pasoans and a Canadian software developer they met at a hackathon.

John Feighery, his wife Annie and Canadian Clayton Grassick have created a mobile app based on NASA technology for mapping and monitoring water sources.

The app allows mobile phone users to count bacteria in water using a phone’s onboard camera, then record and share water test results in an, open-source database. Anyone, anywhere in the world can freely access the online map to find safe water or help clean dangerous sources.