A freshwater initiative that began five years ago in Eastern Canada has moved westward.
On Tuesday in Kelowna, the Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB) and Aqua Forum launched the B.C. AquaHacking Challenge 2020.
According to the OBWB, the Challenge’s goal is to connect youth and young professionals with an interest in freshwater issues with mentors who could help them launch real-world solutions.
In each challenge, students and early career professionals will receive mentorship and skills-building workshops, while they compete for more than $50,000 in prizes and a secured spot in a start-up incubator.
The AquaHacking Challenge was founded by the de Gaspe Beaubien Foundation five years ago.
Aqua Forum was established as a separate, non-profit organization to oversee the initiative and program, which initially had a five-year focus on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Basin (2015-2019).
Funding allowed the program to expand. AquaHacking Challenges will also be held in Winnipeg and Halifax in 2020.
“As a member of the de Gaspe Beaubien family who is from B.C., it is really exciting to see a program like this come here, to harness the skills and talents of young British Columbians in having a positive impact on freshwater in the province,” said Aidan Mattrick, founder of Swerve Labs.
“We knew to expand we needed a great local partner like OBWB — a community leader with water management expertise, and a partner that would be enthusiastic and receptive to work on these issues.
“I can’t wait to see what develops over the next few months and beyond.”
The challenge is open to teams from across Canada.
The five water issues include
- Contaminants in stormwater (How can we improve water quality in our lakes and streams by reducing stormwater contamination?);
- Residential/commercial outdoor water use (How can we reduce the amount of water used outdoors by B.C. homes and businesses?).
- Flood damage in communities and the need to communicate flood risk (How can we reduce damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure and better communicate the risk of flooding to communities?).
- Preventing and mitigating the effects of invasive zebra and quagga mussels (How can we prevent an infestation and potential damage from invasive mussels?).
- Access to potable water in Indigenous communities (How can we improve access to clean drinking water for Indigenous communities in B.C.?).
“I’m excited about the challenge because of the opportunity to work with new partners,” said OBWB executive director Anna Warwick Sears, “and to raise awareness for water issues among tech professionals, and build stronger ties to the university and college community.”
For more on the B.C. AquaHacking Challenge 2020, click here.