The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation recently announced the winner of the Guardians of the Reservoir contest for their solution to eliminate sediment buildup in reservoirs.
Michael Detering, Laura Backes and Joana Kueppers, three members of the German-based team D-Sediment, will receive $100,000 for their Sedimover technology design, which provides 24/7 sediment transfer from reservoirs, according to a Sept. 15 news release.
"Sedimentation has impacted our reservoirs from the day they were built," Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton stated in the press release, "The solutions identified through this prize competition provide an option to manage sediment so Reclamation reservoirs can continue to store water as they were designed to do."
The Guardians of the Reservoir competition, which was divided into three phases, officially launched July 14, 2020, according to the Bureau's website.
Two additional finalists were acknowledged for their achievements, including the 3 D DredgerTM Team, which received the Bureau of Reclamation's Versatility Award for their Complete Sediment Management solution, the release reported. Nicholas and Kenneth LaBry of Prometheus Innovations LLC and Bartolomeo Mongiardino of Hydro Maintenance Service created this completely autonomous dredging sytem to manage silt as well as larger particles by employing three distinct dredging attachments.
Slurry Pulsejet Engine received the Innovation Award for developing technology that collects, dewaters and transfers sediments in a dry or semi-dry state in an attempt to reduce water and energy usage, according to the release. This innovative method was developed by Baha Abulnaga and David Dibley of Mazdak International Inc., in Washington.
