Environmental

Reclamation names three Guardians of the Reservoir finalists

Reclamation names three Guardians of the Reservoir finalists

The Bureau of Reclamation has announced three phase two winners of the Guardians of the Reservoir competition, which now advance to the final phase of the competition.

With this competition, Reclamation “is working to foster solutions for improving reservoir sediment management to extend the life of our reservoirs,” said Jennifer Bountry, supervisory civil engineer. Competitors are designing solutions for removing sedimentation deposits in reservoirs, which reduce storage capacity and potentially prevent a dam from functioning properly.

Over the past 15 months, five teams have been developing lab and field-scale prototypes of their solutions. The winning teams, each receiving $25,000, are:

Nicholas LaBry and Kenneth LaBry of Prometheus Innovations LLC and Bartolomeo Mongiardino of Hydro Maintenance Service, Louisiana, 3 D DREDGER™: Complete Sediment Management: The 3DD team is developing a fully autonomous dredging system designed to handle sediment and larger debris using three attachments. The system is designed for deployment in any environment, without impacting operation or recreation.

Dr. Michael Detering, Laura Backes, and Joana Kueppers, Germany, Sediment Continuity and Restoration: The D-Sediment team developed the SediMover technology as an autonomous vessel for 24/7 sediment transfer from reservoirs. The patented and scalable, modular technology can be used for downstream river sediment continuity or sediment land processing. There are generally no limits in control, transfer range and scope. The transfer is measured constantly onboard and is documented.

Baha Abulnaga, Washington, High Volume Deep Dredging for Low Water De-silting: Mazdak International is developing a technology based on 3 steps: a deep dredging slurry piston pump engine, dewatering sediments in settling ponds, and hydraulic capsule pipelines to transport dewatered sediments in dry or semi-dry form. The technology is based on minimizing water and power consumption and reducing abrasion in pumps and pipelines.

The final phase of the competition will consist of a virtual demonstration of the teams’ prototypes. Each will be evaluated by subject matter experts on how well their prototype moves sediment, anticipated durability of systems and potential cost savings. The team with the top-performing solution receives a $100,000 prize.

Reclamation is partnering with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NASA Tournament Lab and HeroX on the Guardians of the Reservoir competition.