About the platform

Introduction

Bubbly Maps is an open-source application designed to help people quickly find nearby public drinking water fountains (“water bubblers”). It was developed as a submission for the 2025 Premier’s Coding Challenge (Australia) and is available at https://bubblymaps.org.

The problem

Finding clean drinking water in public spaces is often harder than it should be. Existing solutions commonly rely on outdated or poorly maintained datasets, offer limited coverage, or provide interfaces that are not well suited for mobile, on-the-go use. In many cases, available maps only cover a single venue or area, leaving users without a reliable way to locate water when they need it most.

The solution

Bubbly Maps centralises and simplifies access to drinking water locations across Australia using a modern, map-based interface. Users can:

• Locate nearby water bubblers quickly and intuitively

• View reviews and condition reports for cleanliness, accessibility, and functionality

• Contribute by adding new bubblers or updating existing ones to keep the data current

What makes Bubbly Maps different

Bubbly Maps is a community-driven platform with a built-in trust system. Instead of relying on a single static dataset, it combines multiple verified data sources with ongoing user contributions.

As users earn XP through high-quality reviews and edits, they unlock higher levels of trust and editing privileges. All contributions are automatically scanned for spam or abuse, suspicious changes are flagged for review, and edits are versioned so inaccurate data can be reverted. Verified and administrator-approved entries are clearly marked to ensure confidence in the data.

My long-term vision

The long-term goal of Bubbly Maps is to become a highly accurate, continuously updated global repository of public drinking water locations. The platform aims to provide open data access for governments, event organisers, and developers, support better infrastructure planning, and encourage sustainable behaviour by making refillable water more accessible and reducing reliance on single-use plastics.