CONNECT THE DROPS®
A Watergate Manifesto
Water is life.
We search the universe for it because, wherever we find water, life can follow.
Yet here on Earth, we waste it – as if abundance were our birthright.
Two-thirds of the global population already experience severe water scarcity at least one month per year. Entire regions endure months of it. If you think this is only a problem for developing nations or hot climates – think again.
Even England, surrounded by water and famed for its rain, faces a daily shortfall of five billion litres by 2050 – almost twice London’s daily consumption.
This isn’t a projection. It’s already happening.
In the UK: hosepipe bans are becoming routine, with utilities deploying fleets of tankers to pump water into depleted networks. They’ve even drafted emergency plans to import water from Norway.
In Spain: entire villages are being forced to buy back their own drinking water.
If we fail to act, today’s warnings will become tomorrow’s documentaries.
The illusion of abundance
We assume water is infinite because we’re surrounded by it.
The planet may be 71% water, but about 96.5% of all water is salty. Of the freshwater, 68.7% is locked in glaciers and 30.1% is in groundwater. The surface water we can readily use – in lakes and rivers – is 0.0067% of all Earth’s water.
Desalination is energy-hungry, expensive, and environmentally damaging – irresponsible brine disposal chokes marine life. And even where desalination plants work, there’s no infrastructure to distribute that water efficiently inland. Scalable, sustainable desalination is still a long way off.
Rainwater and wastewater harvesting helps – but demands enormous infrastructure overhauls.
If we consider that 80% of the UK’s 2050 buildings already exist today, the clearest path forward is simple: Stop leaks inside properties. Educate people to value water.
But here’s the part that surprises people. While the world frames water as an environmental issue, buildings are already suffering from it – they just call it something else. A leak inside a wall isn’t a sustainability problem. It’s a property damage problem. An insurance claim. A mould outbreak. A six-figure remediation bill.
Leaks cause more financial damage to properties than fires and theft combined. Yet most buildings have fire alarms, security systems, and nothing for water.
The environmental case and the financial case aren’t competing arguments. They’re the same argument. Fix the leak, and you solve both – less water wasted, less property destroyed, less carbon spent treating water that never reached a tap.
Our north star
We started Watergate to unlock a future where abundant water no longer costs the Earth.
That’s a complex mission – tackling ageing infrastructure, population growth, climate change, and public awareness gaps. But where most people are talking theories, we’re acting.
Our ultimate vision is to become the Operating System of Water – but we’re starting with the most impactful front: leaks inside properties.
One stuck toilet valve can waste up to 14,000 litres of water in a single day. The carbon footprint? Equal to burning 61.6 litres of petrol – the equivalent of driving an average UK family car for 610 miles.
These leaks happen daily. Unnoticed. Ignored. Preventable.
How we fix this
We build smart hardware and turn water data into actionable insights.
We equip facilities managers and homeowners to act before leaks become disasters.
And we educate – through behaviour-changing apps, real-time alerts, and data people can actually use.
This is not theory.
Households engaging with Watergate cut consumption by 26.8%. Businesses achieve reductions of up to 68%. We prevent over 90% of catastrophic leaks. We identify hidden, pinhole leaks before they cause mould and damp.
We collaborate with behavioural scientists, activists, utilities, insurers, and market leaders. Because fixing this benefits everyone:
-
Utilities secure supply.
-
Insurers prevent losses.
-
Property owners protect assets.
-
Everyone saves money.
The ten-year horizon
In the next decade, pipes will be as smart as your smartphone.
Water-positive buildings will enjoy cheaper insurance, superior ESG ratings, and preferential mortgage rates.
Leaks will become historical anomalies, like soot-stained chimneys or fuse boxes.
Children will ask why taps ever dripped unchecked.
Our culture valve
Progress is a choice. At Watergate, we’ve made that choice.
We own it – sleeves rolled up.
We out-innovate – refusing comfort in the status quo.
We build a can-do team – because optimism accelerates flow.
We think critically – because data dissolves myths.
We deliver WOW – because good enough never is.
Your role
We’re in. But we need you.
-
Investors – Fuel the rollout of leak detection tech. Transform infrastructure, protect your returns, and accelerate environmental impact.
-
Asset Owners – Deploy, measure, and see the leaks you’re already paying for.
-
Policymakers – Embed smart water management into building codes and planning policies. The infrastructure decisions made now will define the next 50 years.
-
Utilities – Start engaging customers now. Rebuild trust.
-
Homeowners – Fix leaks. Rethink habits. Protect your property and irreplaceable valuables.
End the era of dumb water
We are the generation that decides whether water becomes the new oil – hoarded and fought over – or remains the timeless elixir that sustains life.
Conflicts over water have already happened.
Future narratives depend on today’s stewardship.
Join Watergate.
Connect the Drops.
Krystian Zajac, Founder and CEO