I run Watrify by myself in my free time – voluntarily, independently & ad-free.

Find water. Anywhere. For free.

Watrify is for everyone who feels at home outdoors. Whether vanlife, summiting a peak, or a city trip – Watrify ensures you never run out of water.

Vanlife & Campers

Find water spots for your tank to stay off-grid for days longer.

Hiking & Trekking

Plan your route along natural springs. Save weight in your backpack.

Cycling & Bikepacking

Increase your range. Find water on the go at safe drinking fountains.

Trail Running

Stay in the flow. Fountains for a quick sip on your long run.

City Trips

Stop buying expensive water & reduce plastic. Public drinking fountains in parks and city centers.

Tent & Bivouac

Find water for cooking and washing before setting up camp.

Emergency Preparedness

Backup for emergencies. Know emergency wells when the taps run dry.

250k+ Springs in Europe

100% Privacy & Free

0% Ads & Tracking

1 Developer

Learn more about Watrify

Watrify is a non-commercial open-data project. Created in July 2025 out of a desire to use technology meaningfully, I have one clear goal: to make drinking water quickly accessible to everyone, everywhere – ensuring safe travels during increasingly hot summers while actively preventing plastic waste.

Why a platform just for drinking water?

Whether on an evening jog, a bikepacking tour, a vanlife road trip, or simply sightseeing in the city: when your bottle is empty on the go, the only thing that matters is the direct route to water. Watrify is built exactly for this, answering just one question in seconds: where is the nearest water spot? All features are immediately at hand, the map is uncompromisingly intuitive, and works seamlessly across any device.

100% free, ad-free & no data harvesting

The platform is built entirely voluntarily by myself in my free time – from technical development to the careful curation of data. Watrify is completely ad-free, free of charge, and uses absolutely no tracking.

The community makes the difference

A crucial part of this is the growing Watrify community: by reporting new springs, leaving helpful comments, and adding recent photos, users contribute significantly to ensuring quality. All this is driven by the belief that essential resources should be easily, safely, and freely accessible to everyone.

About me

Hi! I'm Jan – technology enthusiast, outdoor fan, and the mind behind this project. I live in Karlsruhe and have been working in the digital product environment for over 15 years – starting as a freelancer during my studies, then in the corporate world, and today as Head of Product in a tech company that I had the privilege of guiding through its scale-up phase.

Watrify is my passion project: Here I combine my professional expertise in digital products & great user experience with my personal passion. I wanted an answer to the question that constantly bothered me while gravel biking, bivouacking, or traveling in the van: “Where can I quickly fill up my bottle or canister around here?” Watrify is the solution – with no commercial goals, but full focus on utility and sustainability.

Watrify in the Press & Blogs

What started as a small spare-time project is today not only recommended in blogs & media, but has also led to active exchanges with various city administrations, ministries, and government digital initiatives. A brief overview of mentions so far:

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Authorities & Open Data

City of Munich Featured as a best-practice example for waste reduction and drinking fountains on the go [1] [2] [3].

Bavarian State Ministry for Digital Affairs Presented as an official use case in the Open ByData Competence Center.

Open Data Austria Presented on data.gv.at as a use case for utilizing open data.

Code for Germany Mentioned as a showcase by the Open Knowledge Foundation for the successful use of open data.

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Tech & Everyday Life

CHIP.de Recommended in their guide as an app to find drinking water on the go and avoid plastic waste. Awarded a "Good" rating by the editorial team.

GIGA.de Recommends Watrify as a specialized and practical alternative to Google Maps.

Caschy's Blog Initial introduction of the project and further reporting on a major update. [1] [2].

iPhone-Ticker.de Featured as a "data-saving and ad-free" app recommendation for iOS users.

Futurezone Report on the practical everyday helper: "Saves real money in daily life."

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Outdoor & Everyday Life

Bergsteiger Magazine Editorial feature in the May 2026 issue on Watrify as a companion in the outdoors [PDF].

Camperstyle.de The big recommendation for vanlifers: "How to always find free drinking water."

Radio ONE Austria Presented on the radio as an app tip: "Practical help for spontaneously finding free drinking water nearby."

Hitradio antenne 1 Detailed live radio presentation of the app on "Tech-Check with Nico".

BNN & ka-news.de Local coverage about the project and the ranking of the thirstiest cities [1] [2] [3].

How Watrify works (and how you can help)

The drinking water sources on the map essentially come from two directions:

Official datasets: Open data portals of cities and municipalities as well as OpenStreetMap.
The Watrify community: The knowledge of people like you who are out and about.

Since official government data can sometimes be outdated, your help is the absolute core of this project. Do you know a new spring or have you spotted an error on the map?

Submit: Using a simple form, you can report new water sources yourself. Important: I review every entry manually. Please only submit spots where you are absolutely sure it is safe drinking water.
Review: Use votes and comments to verify the current condition of a fountain.

This keeps the map up-to-date and reliable. With just a few clicks, you might help someone tomorrow on a bikepacking tour, in a van, or on a city trip get fresh water quickly and safely.

Your data stays yours

No login. No ads. No trackers. I don't collect user data because your thirst is nobody's business. Just open the map and find water.

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Support Watrify

If you'd like to buy me a coffee, feel free to do so. This helps me cover at least some of the running costs for servers, software licenses, and the ongoing development of Watrify.

Buy me a coffee via PayPal

Thanks for being here 💙
Jan