Philippines/ChasingWaterways
Chasing Waterways is a mapping initiative focused on improving the completeness and accuracy of waterway data across the Philippines. The project was started in September 2025, while the advanced challenges started their pilot in March 2026, and all micro-tasking challenges are regularly refreshed.
For now, the project maintains a more comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and on-boarding pad externally: https://hackmd.io/@osmph/H1ZB1J9Tle
Current Status
The project operates two parallel approaches:
- Enhancement challenges: mpr.lt/p/61314 - improving geometry and attributes, extension of existing OSM waterways (beginner-friendly)
- Gap exploration challenges: Mapping areas with identified gaps (on pilot, for experienced mappers)
Micro-tasking
Interested contributors can find the collection of #ChasingWaterways challenges from MapRoulette: mpr.lt/p/61314.
The country is divided into mapping zones:
- Greater Manila Area - mpr.lt/c/54564
- Northern Luzon - mpr.lt/c/53371
- Southern Luzon - mpr.lt/c/53470
- Visayas - mpr.lt/c/53363
- Western Mindanao - mpr.lt/c/54566
- Eastern Mindanao - mpr.lt/c/54567
Trivia
The idea for the project was triggered by a comment in the community channel thread about the outrageous allegations of corruption, mismanagement, and irregularities in government-funded flood management projects back in 2025 and to direct the energy of the outraged citizens into something more productive, by contributing to the commons.
The #ChasingWaterways Hashtag
It was loosely inspired by a section of the chorus from a old TLC song, Waterfalls: "don't go chasing waterfalls..."