Each year through the AquaHacking Challenge, we engage with rising gen hackers, engineers, and marketers from various universities to create multidisciplinary teams and develop clean-tech engineering, web and mobile solutions to solve water issues affecting different regions in Canada. This year for the FIRST time, the AquaHacking Challenge is brought to British Columbia, hosted by the Okanagan Basin Water Board.

AquaHacking BC

About the Challenge
The AquaHacking Challenge is where a tech innovation competition meets entrepreneurship development bootcamp. It's a launch pad for water entrepreneurs, a pre-incubator for water tech startups, and meeting place for change-makers and innovators. For the British Columbia AquaHacking 2020 Challenge, young Canadians have come together to create groundbreaking solutions to some of the biggest environmental freshwater issues. This challenge was held from September 2019 to July 2020 and was hosted jointly by AquaAction and the Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB).
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The Water Issues
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Contaminants in Stormwater
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Invasive Zebra &amp; Quagga Mussels
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Flood Damage and RIsks
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Outdoor Water Use
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Potable Water in Indigenous Communities
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How can we improve water quality in our lakes and streams by reducing stormwater contamination?
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How can we prevent infestation and potential damage from invasive mussels?
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How can we reduce damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure and better communicate the risk of flooding to communities?
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How can we reduce the amount of water used outdoors by B.C. homes and businesses?
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How can we improve access to clean drinking water for Indigenous communities in B.C.?
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The Participant Experience
 This challenge consisted of nearly 170 registered participants ranging from students and young professionals who were passionate about water science and innovation. As an AquaHacking participant, they had the opportunity to learn how to be an effective change-maker, learn how to make a meaningful impact in the water sector, connect with professional mentors, and attend virtual workshops while building and pitching a freshwater solution to critical water issues.&nbsp;
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22 teams had submitted a proposal and 14 teams made it to the virtual semi-finals held in March. At this event, 5 finalist teams were selected based on business potential &amp; market fit, technical feasibility &amp; functionality, utility &amp; value of the solution, presentation quality, and innovation.&nbsp;
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To learn more about this challenge, visit <a href="https://aquaaction.org/challenge/british-columbia-challenge-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://aquaaction.org/challenge/british-columbia-challenge-2020/</a>.