This 13-year-old coder is using tech to save millions of gallons of water
At just 13, Neha Blunt is using computer science to tackle a problem that often goes unnoticed: everyday water wastage.
The Marlton, New Jersey, student has developed Water Saver, a web-based application that helps households track their water use and adopt conservation habits. Her wider Water Savers campaign has now educated more than 1 million people worldwide, encouraged over 100,000 residents to change their daily habits and contributed to an estimated 20 million gallons of water savings.
Her work has now earned her third place in the Technology and Innovation, Community Engagement category at the 2026 International Young Eco-Hero Awards, organised by Action For Nature.WHAT SPARKED THE TECH IDEA
Neha's journey began with a simple statistic.
While looking through an Evesham Township Municipal Utilities Authority calendar, she came across information showing that a single leaking faucet could waste more than 2,000 gallons of clean water every month.
The figure made her look more closely at water conservation in New Jersey. Although the state is considered relatively water-rich and receives roughly 45 inches of rainfall annually, increasing populations and water demand have placed pressure on its water resources.
Neha launched the Water Savers campaign in spring 2023, using her self-taught programming skills alongside grassroots community outreach.
She then spent seven months developing Water Saver, a browser-based application designed to make water conservation more interactive.
Instead of simply telling people to use less water, the platform encourages households to monitor their consumption and make small changes to their daily routines.BUILDING THE APP FROM SCRATCH
For Neha, creating the application also meant learning skills she had not previously mastered.
She taught herself MySQL to address the technical challenge of managing databases and user log-ins and built the backend framework herself.
She also chose to make Water Saver a web application rather than requiring users to download specialised software. The approach was intended to make the tool accessible across devices, including for communities that may not be able to afford paid software.
The platform includes practical resources such as DIY tutorials on rain barrels and rain gardens, along with information about water scarcity around the world.
The project soon moved beyond her local community. Water Saver won third place in the 2023 Congressional App Challenge, and Neha became the youngest competitor to place in a field that included high school programmers, according to Action For Nature.
She was later appointed Water Conservation Ambassador by the Evesham Environmental Commission and served as a student liaison to the Economic Advisory Council. She has also worked with local and state officials and received recognition from the New Jersey General Assembly.FROM WATER CONSERVATION TO STEM
Water Saver is only one part of Neha's work.
She has been programming since she was three and had earned 22 college credits by the age of 13. She was also the youngest student in her county to take AP Calculus BC in sixth grade, according to her Eco-Hero profile.
Alongside her sister, Neha developed Cair, an indoor air-quality monitoring system. She is also working as an intern at Project Refit, where she is developing a peer-to-peer support application for veterans.
After a family member was affected by fraud, she worked with Stockton University on an Elder Fraud Awareness programme.
Her community work extends to coding education. She has spent more than 200 hours teaching free coding classes to underserved young girls at her local library.
As treasurer of the Youth Advisory Committee, she also led a Pi Day fundraiser that generated enough money to provide three $500 scholarships to graduating seniors.NEHA'S FUTURE PLANS
Neha is now working with the Evesham MUA on Water Saver 2.0.
The next version is expected to establish a secure data pathway that can turn live household water-use information into interactive charts, giving users a clearer picture of how much water they consume.
She also plans to raise funds for a Charity: Water well project aimed at providing clean water to an entire town.
Looking further ahead, Neha wants to study computer science with a concentration in cybersecurity. She hopes to eventually work with the US National Security Agency on protecting critical infrastructure.
For Neha, however, the larger lesson from the project is not simply about water.
"When resources seem abundant, people slip into passive habits and waste water without ever realizing it," she said. "True environmental justice means everyone deserves access to clean water and a healthy living environment, no matter where they live."
Her story shows how a problem as ordinary as a leaking tap can become the starting point for a much larger idea — when a young person has the skills and determination to build a solution.- EndsPublished By: Mridusmita DekaPublished On: Sep 12, 2026 13:17 ISTRead | He failed JEE, then rejected an IIT seat. Years later, he returned as a professorRead | He memorised the periodic table at 2 and graduated high school at just 12
