Global Water Watch

What Global Water Watch does

Global Water Watch is a partnership initiative operated by Deltares with World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) that provides free, globally accessible, near-real-time monitoring of more than 70,000 reservoirs worldwide. The platform processes NASA/USGS Landsat and ESA Copernicus Sentinel satellite imagery through proprietary AI and machine learning algorithms on Google Earth Engine, applying computer vision for water surface detection and bathymetry reconstruction techniques (MERIT-Hydro digital elevation model, HydroMT, stream flow methods) to convert surface area measurements into volumetric storage time series. It also publishes a Standardized Area Index (SAI) for climatological comparison and exposes a public REST API with Python tooling for programmatic access.

The platform targets water management authorities, security and peace-building organizations, humanitarian and disaster response bodies (including Red Cross 510), commercial water analytics firms (Watermarq), and academic researchers. The user-facing core platform, interactive map viewer, and API are free; monetization is limited to bespoke professional services (Insights, Enhancements, Solutions) sold via direct inquiry, alongside grant funding from Google.org, the European Space Agency, and the Water Peace and Security Partnership. The platform launched publicly at Stockholm World Water Week in 2023, with research underpinning it published in Nature Scientific Reports.

GWW's growth strategy is product-led and community-led rather than commercial: it relies on open-source distribution via GitHub, Jupyter notebooks, and partner networks of its three founding institutions, with a stated roadmap to extend coverage from reservoirs into rivers, lakes, water quality, downstream risk, and predictive analytics.

Name

Global Water Watch

Legal name

Global Water Watch

Website

https://globalwaterwatch.earth

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Global Water Watch is a Deltares-WRI-WWF partnership initiative that operates a free, globally accessible platform providing near-real-time AI- and satellite-based monitoring of over 70,000 reservoirs, serving governments, humanitarian organizations, researchers, and commercial water analytics firms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Earth Observation Water Resource Monitoring Software

NAICS

Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Real-Time Monitoring & Smart Stormwater (Sensors, SCADA/IoT, RTC) (EUANAEAK)

Keywords

• Earth observation monitoring
• Reservoir water data
• Satellite remote sensing
• Water resource analytics
• Climate adaptation data

Headquarters

HQ city

Delft

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Free Open Access Platform: The core platform is provided free of charge to all users globally, democratizing access to water resource data. The platform is supported by grant funding from Google.org, ESA, and the Water, Peace and Security Partnership rather than direct revenue from end users.
2. Professional Services: Paid advisory, consulting, and custom analysis services are offered through the Services page, including Insights (upstream contextualization and advanced analytics), Enhancements (adding new reservoirs to the database), and Solutions (custom tools, dataset integrations, and bespoke analyses). Contact-based pricing.
3. API Access: The platform provides API access for developers and organizations to integrate GWW data into their own workflows and applications. While the API is publicly accessible, it represents a channel through which value is delivered, with potential for differentiated access tiers in the future.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Global Water Watch provides a free, globally accessible web platform and public REST API that deliver near-real-time reservoir water area and storage time series for over 70,000 reservoirs worldwide. The platform processes NASA/USGS Landsat and ESA/Copernicus Sentinel satellite imagery through AI/ML algorithms on Google Earth Engine, combined with bathymetry reconstruction to derive volumetric storage data, supporting water management authorities, humanitarian organizations, commercial analytics firms, and researchers. In addition, paid professional services (Insights, Enhancements, Solutions) provide bespoke analytics, custom reservoir additions, and tailored tool development.

Product overview

Global Water Watch is a platform-plus-services portfolio consisting of a core web-based monitoring platform that provides free, globally accessible near-real-time data on over 70,000 reservoirs worldwide, supplemented by a public API for programmatic access. The platform is complemented by professional services including Insights (expert analysis combining GWW data with domain expertise), Enhancements (custom development to expand the reservoir database), and Solutions (bespoke tool development and specialized analyses). The core platform delivers reservoir water area and storage time series, while services provide tailored support for specific use cases.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Global Water Watch Platform (Interactive Web Viewer) Free, self-serve interactive web application that provides near-real-time monitoring of water surface area and storage volume for over 70,000 reservoirs globally, serving water management authorities, humanitarian organizations, commercial analytics firms, and researchers.
• Global Water Watch API Public REST API with Swagger UI documentation and Python SDK that enables developers, researchers, and organizations to programmatically query reservoir geometry, surface area time series, and storage time series data for integration into custom applications, research workflows, and dashboards.
• Insights Services Paid consulting service that combines Global Water Watch data with advanced analytics and domain expertise to deliver upstream contextualization, catchment dynamics analysis, and actionable insights for water resource management, climate adaptation, and disaster response use cases.
• Enhancements Services Paid custom development service that adds reservoirs critical to specific client operations into the Global Water Watch database using satellite data, extending platform coverage for local resource management, climate adaptation, or specific project needs.
• Solutions Services Paid bespoke consulting service for custom tool development, specialized dataset integration, and tailored analyses that address unique water resource challenges and requirements beyond the standard platform capabilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Platform monitors over 70,000 reservoirs globally, providing near-real-time water area and storage data.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• Red Cross 510coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Red Cross 510 (data analytics branch of the Red Cross, based in The Hague) collaborated with Deltares and Delft University of Technology on research to predict water availability using GWW storage data, resulting in a Master's thesis and enhanced early warning capabilities for Red Cross drought response.
• Delft University of TechnologyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Delft University of Technology collaborated with Deltares and Red Cross 510 on research to develop water availability prediction models using Global Water Watch data, as part of a Master's thesis (Emie Klein Holkenborg, 2023) on predicting water storages in man-made reservoirs worldwide.
• DeltaresflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Deltares is one of the three founding partners of Global Water Watch, providing advanced water modeling, technical expertise, and scientific research (including the Nature Scientific Reports study on reservoir dynamics) to ensure accurate and actionable reservoir data. Deltares leads algorithm development and platform engineering.
• World Resources Institute (WRI)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021WRI is one of the three founding partners of Global Water Watch, contributing its global network and policy expertise to drive data-driven decision-making and equitable access to water information. WRI leads outreach to governments and international water governance stakeholders.
• World Wildlife Fund (WWF)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021WWF is one of the three founding partners of Global Water Watch, contributing its deep understanding of global water ecosystems and conservation, and advocating for sustainable water resource management. WWF promotes the platform within its global conservation network.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• EOMAP: EOMAP is a specialized satellite-based water quality and bathymetry analytics company serving environmental, mining, and coastal clients. It is an emerging player with partial overlap to GWW, focused more on water quality than reservoir storage, and indicative of the niche EO-water vendors competing for similar buyers.

Direct peers

• WWF Water Risk Filter: The WWF Water Risk Filter is the World Wildlife Fund's tool for assessing corporate and portfolio water risk. WWF is itself a founding partner of GWW, and both serve conservation-aligned buyers (corporates, investors, policymakers) with global, open water risk information, making this a closely adjacent direct peer.
• Akvo: Akvo is a not-for-profit data platform for water, sanitation, and hygiene programs, providing open data tools, dashboards, and APIs to governments and NGOs in developing regions. It is a direct peer in mission (open water data for development), target users (governments, NGOs), and product shape (PLG data platforms with APIs).
• Sentinel Hub (Sinergise): Sentinel Hub is a cloud-based Earth observation platform that processes Copernicus Sentinel and other satellite imagery into analysis-ready data layers, including environmental and water-related monitoring. It is a direct competitor to GWW's EO processing stack and serves a similar developer/research audience with APIs and ready-made algorithms.
• Watermarq: Watermarq is a commercial water analytics firm that uses Global Water Watch data to deliver basin-scale water supply and demand assessments to governments, companies, and financial institutions. It is a direct downstream peer — same domain, same underlying data, but commercialized for enterprise/finance use cases that GWW itself only reaches via bespoke consulting.
• WRI Aqueduct: WRI Aqueduct is the World Resources Institute's global water risk data platform, providing open water stress, drought, flood, and groundwater indicators. It is the most direct peer: WRI is itself a founding partner of GWW, both serve similar users (governments, financial institutions, NGOs), and both aim to democratize water data globally for decision-making.

Broad incumbents

• ESRI (ArcGIS): ESRI's ArcGIS is the dominant enterprise GIS platform with extensive water resources, environmental monitoring, and imagery analytics capabilities. It is a broad incumbent competitor for the same government and utility buyers, offering overlapping functionality as part of a much larger geospatial portfolio.
• Planet Labs: Planet Labs operates a high-cadence commercial Earth observation satellite constellation and delivers imagery and analytics for agriculture, water, and government markets. It is a broad incumbent that could add (or already offers) reservoir and water body analytics as a feature within its wider imagery and analytics portfolio.
• Google Earth Engine: Google Earth Engine is the planetary-scale geospatial platform on which GWW actually runs its processing. It is a broad incumbent offering overlapping satellite imagery, time-series analysis, and APIs across many environmental domains, and could choose to natively deliver reservoir/water monitoring features that compete with GWW's curated offerings.

Others

• Deltares: Deltares is the Dutch applied research institute that operates Global Water Watch and provides its scientific and engineering backbone. It is an ecosystem enabler/partner rather than a competitor, but its broader water modeling and consulting portfolio (HydroMT, Delft3D, etc.) is closely adjacent to the freshwater intelligence GWW aspires to provide.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/global-water-watch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/global-water-watch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Global Water Watch