2022 Intelligent Water Systems Challenge
The Leaders Innovation Forum for Technology (LIFT) program, a joint effort of The Water Research Foundation (WRF) and the Water Environment Federation (WEF), is holding the fourth annual Intelligent Water Systems Challenge to demonstrate the value of intelligent water systems to utilities and thereby foster the adoption of smart water technologies. The Challenge gives students, professionals, and technology aficionados the opportunity to showcase their talents and innovation, with a focus on leveraging data using the best available tools to help utilities better understand the dynamics of complex systems and make better decisions.
In this Challenge, teams assembled to take on a self-selected Needs Statement. Teams took the following steps to participate:
- Registered their team (min 2, max 6) by April 15, 2022
- Submitted their Challenge Plan by May 16, 2022
- Submitted their Challenge Solution by August 15, 2022
- The top 3 submissions below were selected to make a final pitch at WEFTEC 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Winning Solution
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and DC Water
Topic: Realtime Management of Wastewater Treatment Plants Using AI
Runners Up
2nd Place - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Hampton Roads Sanitation District, Virginia, SENTRY Water Technologies, Inc.
Topic: Re-Envisioning Carbon Monitoring at Water Resource Recovery Facilities: A Synergistic Look into Bio-Electrochemical Sensors and Artificial Intelligence
3rd Place - Johnson County Stormwater Management Program, Kansas, NEER, Anthropocene Engineering
Topic: Real-Time Optimization of a Stormwater Management Program in Johnson County, Kansas for Flood Forecasting and Asset Management Prioritization