Team GLASS wins internet of H2O Challenge

Last month we shared an update that the H2Ometrics platform was expanded to include several new water quality parameters for the H2Ometrics entry as part of team GLASS for the Cleveland Water Alliance’s Internet of H2O Challenge. We are pleased to announce that team GLASS has won the challenge! The judges were impressed with the team’s end-to-end solution that collected nutrient data, transmitted it to the cloud, and made it available in the H2Ometrics platform for data analysis and monitoring. The judges commented during the award ceremony that our team solved an important real world problem. Below is an overview of our team approach to the challenge.

Members of Team Glass at Pitch Day for the Challenge. From left, Vince Kelly (Green Eyes), Nathan Zgnilec (OHM Advisors), Karlin Danielsen (OHM Advisors), Robert Czachorski (H2Ometrics)

Overview of Team Challenge Approach

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a major threat to the water quality of Lake Erie and the millions of residents who depend on the lake as a source of drinking water. Measuring, disseminating and tracking nutrient levels in and entering the lake from tributaries is a critical component of understanding and predicting HABs and improving the water quality of Lake Erie. Solutions to these problems have been hampered by the absence of a nutrient detection method and the ability to make data available in a real-time, analytical platform.

The Internet of H2O Challenge, organized by the Cleveland Water Alliance, sought to develop a robust and resilient nutrient monitoring program with the potential to scale across the Great Lakes. Five teams competed for the $50,000 of cash prizes, decided by judges comprised of industry leaders and government managers.

Team GLASS was a collaborative effort between H2Ometrics, OHM Advisors, Green Eyes, and HESCO. Together, the team delivered a robust, scalable, interoperable, real-time nutrient monitoring system. The team members offered unique expertise and access to technologies that allowed for advanced nutrient detection, telemetry, cloud data analytics, and system integration.The technology demonstrated for the competition included the Green Eye Science NewLAB automated chemical measurement system, Trimble Telog remote telemetry units to collect and transmit the data to the could, and the H2Ometrics platform for data monitoring and analytics.

Team GLASS demonstrated the readiness of its technology by performing a pilot deployment at Rock Creek in Tiffin, OH with a fully functioning nutrient monitor that transmitted measurements to a cloud data analytics platform. This technology showed a scalable solution that could be deployed at dozens or hundreds of monitoring sights in a relatively short period. To demonstrate this capacity, the Team developed a deployment plan for scaling the monitoring system to 100 sites within the Maumee River watershed and its tributaries. This plan for the Maumee Watershed is representative of the type of scaling that could be reproduced across the Lake Erie Basin. These components have the potential to make Lake Erie the smartest lake in the world and provide a model for other lakes and watersheds to monitor and improve their water quality.