PHOTO COURTESY OF CLEVELAND WATER ALLIANCE
The 2021 Erie Hack water-innovation competition representing the Great Lakes and hosted by Cleveland Water Alliance produced a number of innovative and exciting products and solutions aimed at addressing Lake Erie’s surface water quality.
Submissions included everything from synthetic RNA manufacturing to microfluid chips for toxin collection. Over $60,000 was awarded to winning teams, with RNA Power from Cleveland awarded first place and $30,000 for its harmful algal bloom forecasting model. Agri-Tech Ohio, also from Cleveland, received second place and $18,000 for is patented Combined Remediation Biomass and Bio-Product Production Process.
An additional four teams won Mini Challenges for innovative products and solutions: Cleveland Metroparks awarded $2,500 to Team Curbing Sediment for “The Road Salt IoT Mini Challenge;” the Rotary Club of Toledo awarded $5,000 to Team I Love Lake Erie for “The Data Mining to Support Water Quality Investigations Mini Challenge” and $5,000 to Team Water Warriors for “The Nutrient Capture & Reuse at the Edge-Of-Field Mini Challenge;” and Cleveland Water Alliance and the GLOW Partnership awarded $1,000 to Team Let’s Float Some Sensors on the Lake for “The Water Sensor Kit Mini Challenge.”
“In 2017, we issued a challenge to ‘Innovate The Lake,’ and forward-thinkers from across our region answered the call,” said Bryan Stubbs, President and Executive Director at CWA, reports WaterWorld. “Now, in 2021, we are excited to have named the winners of the third iteration of Erie Hack. This year’s competition activated some of the best innovations we’ve seen to-date, and we’re looking forward to collaborating with these teams as we continue to accelerate the economic impact and conserve the vitality of our freshwater ecosystems.”
For more info, visit clevelandwateralliance.org/eriehack.
