STAGE ONE
THE GEORGE BARLEY WATER PRIZE
Stage One of the competition was open to everyone, from top-tier universities doing cutting edge research to inventors working in their garage. 104 teams entered ideas, and offered their insights and inspirations on why they decided to embark on solving one of the most vexing challenges facing our planet.
In this stage the prize purse was $35,000 competitors were judged on
1. Performance indicators
2. Experiment description
3. Environmental outcome assessment
4. Overall presentation
Competitors were scored on
1. Phosphorus Removal
2. Environmental Sustainability
3. Overall Presentation
STAGE ONE
THE GEORGE BARLEY WATER PRIZE
Stage One of the competition was open to everyone, from top-tier universities doing cutting edge research to inventors working in their garage. 104 teams entered ideas, and offered their insights and inspirations on why they decided to embark on solving one of the most vexing challenges facing our planet.
In this stage the prize purse was $35,000 competitors were judged on
1. Performance indicators
2. Experiment description
3. Environmental outcome assessment
4. Overall presentation
Competitors were scored on
1. Phosphorus Removal
2. Environmental Sustainability
3. Overall Presentation
GRAND
CHALLENGE
THE GEORGE BARLEY WATER PRIZE
The final ‘Grand Challenge’ stage of the George Barley Water Prize will be the robust testing of contestants under field conditions in the Greater Everglades to validate whether these leading technologies can remove phosphorus from the Kissimmee River or a comparable water body under real conditions at significantly lower cost than currently possible.
The 9 Pilot Phase teams will be narrowed down to the final four, who will move on to the final stage of the competition. Advancers will be announced in October 2018, in Toronto, during Canada’s Water Innovation Week. While Stage 3 asked teams to perform through snowmelt conditions, Stage 4 will require teams to demonstrate their ability to perform in subtropical conditions. Four teams will receive continuous flow, averaging 1 million gallons per day (gpd), with a variable spike of 4 million gallons per day, over the course of 14 months.
A Grand Challenge winner will have demonstrated endurance in a range temperatures, proving their technology is globally applicable. With the support of the State of Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection and the St. John’s River Water Management District, the Grand Challenge will be hosted on the banks of Lake Jesup, in Oviedo, Florida.
In this stage the prize purse is a
$10 Million Grand Prize
$250,000 Secondary Prize
$170,000 Phoenix Prize
competitors are judged on
1. TP results from grand stage testing
2. Cost calculations
3. Background water characteristics
4. Waste disposal plan
5. Environmental outcome assessment
6. By-product recovery income plan
7. Twenty-page scalability plan
Competitors were scored on
1. Phosphorus Removal
2. Environmental Sustainability
3. Overall Presentation
GRAND
CHALLENGE
THE GEORGE BARLEY WATER PRIZE
The final ‘Grand Challenge’ stage of the George Barley Water Prize will be the robust testing of contestants under field conditions in the Greater Everglades to validate whether these leading technologies can remove phosphorus from the Kissimmee River or a comparable water body under real conditions at significantly lower cost than currently possible.
The 9 Pilot Phase teams will be narrowed down to the final four, who will move on to the final stage of the competition. Advancers will be announced in October 2018, in Toronto, during Canada’s Water Innovation Week. While Stage 3 asked teams to perform through snowmelt conditions, Stage 4 will require teams to demonstrate their ability to perform in subtropical conditions. Four teams will receive continuous flow, averaging 1 million gallons per day (gpd), with a variable spike of 4 million gallons per day, over the course of 14 months.
A Grand Challenge winner will have demonstrated endurance in a range temperatures, proving their technology is globally applicable. With the support of the State of Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection and the St. John’s River Water Management District, the Grand Challenge will be hosted on the banks of Lake Jesup, in Oviedo, Florida.
In this stage the prize purse is a
$10 Million Grand Prize
$250,000 Secondary Prize
$170,000 Phoenix Prize
competitors are judged on
1. TP results from grand stage testing
2. Cost calculations
3. Background water characteristics
4. Waste disposal plan
5. Environmental outcome assessment
6. By-product recovery income plan
7. Twenty-page scalability plan
Competitors were scored on
1. Phosphorus Removal
2. Environmental Sustainability
3. Overall Presentation
STAGE ONE
THE GEORGE BARLEY WATER PRIZE
Stage One of the competition was open to everyone, from top-tier universities doing cutting edge research to inventors working in their garage. 104 teams entered ideas, and offered their insights and inspirations on why they decided to embark on solving one of the most vexing challenges facing our planet.
In this stage the prize purse was $35,000 competitors were judged on
1. Performance indicators
2. Experiment description
3. Environmental outcome assessment
4. Overall presentation
Competitors were scored on
1. Phosphorus Removal
2. Environmental Sustainability
3. Overall Presentation
THE SCIENCE OF
EVERGLADES ECOLOGY
Over 2,000 species of plants and animals make their home in the greater Everglades. Unfortunately, a significant number of them – including the Florida panther, Everglade snail kite, and wood stork – are imperiled.
The greater Everglades is a mosaic of ecosystems stretching over 200 miles of the Florida peninsula from the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes down to the Florida Keys. The ecosystem once supported healthy populations of wading birds, American alligators, and American crocodiles. Unfortunately, human disturbance led to a loss of 50% of the original Everglades, and much of what remains is impacted by insufficient flows of clean freshwater, resulting in continued habitat degradation.
ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH AT
THE EVERGLADES FOUNDATION
Ecological research at The Everglades Foundation centers on understanding how human impacts and threats including climate change, sea level rise, water management, urban development, and nutrient inputs affect everything from soil microbes to the diversity of plants and animals across the Everglades.
We also strive to understand the benefits of Everglades restoration for its inhabitants, how restoration may mitigate some of the impacts of climate change already faced by native plants and animals, and what those species need to survive and thrive in the Everglades. Understanding this allows our science team to anticipate future ecological challenges and to work with water managers and restoration planners on developing feasible solutions.
Our research also considers the fate of our coastal habitats like mangrove forests and seagrass meadows. These habitats are maintained by a balance of clean freshwater mixing with seawater. By re-directing the flow of clean freshwater from Lake Okeechobee back to the Everglades, we can minimize the decades-long impacts to coastal habitats along the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Estuaries. We can also provide for the needs of coastal mangroves and seagrass in Florida Bay.
Our research has also shown that increased freshwater flows into the coastal Everglades will slow the rapid loss (i.e., collapse) of coastal wetlands and peat soils. Through the combination of sea level rise, low freshwater flow due to water management, and saltwater intrusion, peat soil can break down rapidly, collapsing into open water. This results in habitat loss, a release in nutrients once sequestered in the peat soil into the environment, and a less protected shoreline to storm surge.
The Everglades Foundation also shares scientific information about the species and ecosystems of the Everglades, threats they are facing, and how restoration can help.
FUN FACTS ABOUT
EVERGLADES SPECIES
GET TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE ANIMALS THAT CALL THE EVERGLADES HOME
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There are only 2 species of alligators found worldwide – one in Florida, and the other in China.
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South Florida is the only place where alligators and crocodiles coexist.
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American alligators exhibit tool use, a behavior normally associated with highly intelligent animals. A few decades ago, we thought the only animals to use tools were humans.
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There are 3 species of seahorses in the coastal waters of South Florida: lined seahorses, dwarf seahorses, and slender seahorses. Males actually care for the eggs. The females deposit eggs into the male’s brood pouch, where they are fertilized, and he carries them until they hatch.
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Roseate spoonbills experience something like balding when they age, but instead of losing hair, they loose feathers from the top of their head.
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Wood storks can snap their bills shut in 25 milliseconds, representing one of the fastest reflexes found in vertebrates.
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Florida manatees are pregnant for 12 months, and their babies weigh almost 66 lbs. when they’re born. They live with their mothers for 1 to 2 years, and can swim and vocalize right after birth.
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Black bears, including the Florida black bear, have an excellent sense of smell, 7 times better than that of a bloodhound.
