EcoTech Hackathon: Making Urban Water Smart

Join us for a groundbreaking hackathon focused on tackling one of today’s most pressing urban challenges: the sustainable management of stormwater runoff. Climate change is exacerbating flooding and water quality issues in urban areas, affecting both city infrastructure and receiving water bodies. Blue-green stormwater infrastructure, including Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), can help mitigate the problems. We need your ideas to innovate smart sensing technologies that enhance the performance, maintenance, and monitoring of NBS!

• Developers, data scientists, designers, and engineers of all kinds
• Environmental scientists and urban planners
• Anyone passionate about protecting our ecosystems and creating future-proof cities

•  Novel sensing: Develop advanced sensors for monitoring of NBS performance indicators, such as infiltration rates, hydraulic loading ratios, erosion, water quality and retention or detention performance. Think machine vision, image processing and drone surveys.
• Data Collection, Integration and Analysis: Create a system for processing and analyzing sensor data to inform maintenance and operational decisions. Integrate data from weather patterns, urban infrastructure, water quality and quantity sensors, and satellite imagery.
• Predictive Modeling: Build machine learning models to predict the impact of contaminated stormwater on receiving water bodies. Analyze historical data to forecast future trends and identify high-risk areas.
• Sustainable Infrastructure: Innovate in integrating NBS with existing urban infrastructure for holistic water management solutions using geospatial data and urban planning models. Think green roofs, rain gardens, permeable pavements, and constructed wetlands.
• Community Engagement and Education: Develop tools and resources to raise awareness about the benefits of NBS and engage citizens in performance monitoring. Empower communities with information to drive behavior change and support grassroots efforts.
• Partnership and Collaboration: Create a platform for collaboration between government agencies, environmental organizations, research institutions, and local communities. Sharing data, resources, and expertise can accelerate the development and implementation of NBS.