The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public.

Discovering solutions to reduce the volume of concentrate from inland desalination plants.

Step 1:
Register – Do you have an idea to reduce the volume of concentrate and generate more usable water from inland desalination plants? You must first register no later than Wednesday, March 3, 2021, at 5:00 PM Mountain.

Step 2:
Submit – Individuals, teams, and organizations that meet eligibility criteria are welcome to submit solutions. Ideas should focus on solutions that reduce the volume of concentrate and generate more usable water from inland desalination plants. Submit no later than Wednesday, March 31, 2021, at 5:00 PM Mountain.

Step 3:
Evaluation – Each valid submission receives scores and comments from five Evaluation Panel members, using a trait-scoring rubric with four criteria: concentrate volume reduction, feasibility, water recovery, and prototype plan. All scores are normalized to ensure fairness for all solvers.

Step 4:
Building a Prototype – Up to five Finalists will be awarded $115,000.00 each to build a prototype according to their submission within an eleven-month period. Working prototypes need to be present at the demonstration site by Monday, June 20, 2022.

Step 5:
Demonstration – Finalists will demonstrate their working prototype at a live event in June 2022 at the Bureau of Reclamation’s Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility in Alamogordo, NM. The winner will receive $150,000.00 and an additional $100,000.00 may be awarded to other Finalists.