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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
INVEST NOW, SAVE BILLIONS
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INVESTING IN EVERGLADES RESTORATION NOW, CAN SAVE BILLIONS AND BRING
MUCH NEEDED WATER SECURITY FOR MILLIONS OF PEOPLE
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Over the past 20 years, the State of Florida has outspent the federal government on restoration projects by nearly 3 to 1. In order to complete authorized projects that are currently outlined in the Army Corps of Engineers Integrated Delivery Schedule (IDS), the federal government must more than double its commitment to Everglades restoration over the next 5 years. By doing so, the federal government will save billions of dollars in overall program costs. See figure here.
DELAY HAS MORE COSTS
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IT’S A GOOD DECISION.
INVESTING NOW IN EVERGLADES RESTORATION WILL:
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Create upwards of 47,000 new jobs – jobs that will be critical as Florida rebounds from COVID-19
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Protect the pillars of South Florida’s Clean Water Economy: tourism, real estate, and recreation
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Rescue a globally significant ecosystem and World Heritage Site
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Help recover threatened and endangered species like the Everglade snail kite
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Aid water management and habitat resiliency in the face of sea level rise
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Accomplish long-overdue modernization of South Florida’s water infrastructure.
Florida’s water management infrastructure – the “Central and Southern Florida Project” – was designed in 1948. It was a different time and a different Florida: an agriculture-based economy with a population of only 2.5 million people.
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Today, the population of South Florida is 9 million, more than four times the design capacity of the "Central and Southern Florida Project." Our region has evolved from a farm-based economy to one based on tourism, real estate and water-based recreation like beaches, boating and fishing – all highly reliant on clean water.
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The bipartisan Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) that was signed into law in 2000 will bring Florida’s water infrastructure into the 21st Century, protecting our jobs, our property and our modern economy. Delayed investment increases risk of toxic algae, wildfires, loss of biodiversity, and impact to water supply.
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IT’S A GOOD DECISION.
A ROBUST INVESTMENT,
MADE EARLY, WILL ACCELERATE KEY PROJECTS.
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Projects like the Central Everglades Plan (including the Everglades Reservoir) and key storage projects to the east (C-44 St. Lucie Reservoir) and west (C-43 Caloosahatchee Reservoir) of Lake Okeechobee can be completed sooner and at a lower overall cost.
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These projects will protect South Florida’s world-class coastal fisheries, reduce wildfire in the Everglades, protect the drinking water supply for all of us in South Florida and provide greater flexibility to manage floods, droughts, hurricanes, and the impacts of sea level rise.
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The graph below reflects the annual and cumulative CERP program expenditures by the State of Florida and the federal government between 2002 and 2021. Extending state funding forward for the next four years. This projection depends on the State of Florida continuing it level of funding at the $322 million annual level. If the federal government commits the $2.9 billion required by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the next four years, we can complete key Everglades Restoration projects and greatly reduce the overall cost of restoration.
