Prize Competitions

Prize Competitions spur innovation by engaging a non-traditional solver community. Competitions can complement traditional research and target Reclamation’s most persistent science and technology challenges. Competitions use prizes to incentivize solvers to submit solutions and are open to a solver community that includes members of the public, businesses, and other organizations.

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News & Media

• Prize Competition - Award

  Reclamation Selects Six Phase 1 Winners for Halt the Hitchhiker: Invasive Species Competition

  Aug. 13, 2026 — The Bureau of Reclamation has selected six Phase 1 winners of the Halt the Hitchhiker: Invasive Species Challenge today. This challenge promotes innovative solutions to prevent aquatic invasive species (AIS) from spreading through watercraft ballast compartments, protecting Reclamation's water delivery and hydropower infrastructure across the Western United States. Read More →

• Prize Competition - Award

  Reclamation Selects Three Phase 2 Winners for the Seal Team Fix Challenge

  Aug. 5, 2026 — The Bureau of Reclamation has selected three Phase 2 winners of the Seal Team Fix Challenge, a prize competition designed to identify innovative solutions for sealing pressurized dam conduits and strengthening dam safety across Reclamation facilities. Read More →

• Prize Competition - Award

  Reclamation Selects Seven Phase 1 Winners for Crack the Case Prize Challenge

  July 6, 2026 — The Bureau of Reclamation selected seven phase 1 winners of the Crack the Case Challenge. The phase 1 winners each will receive $30,000 prizes and a chance to further develop prototypes and complete testing on systems to detect subsurface cracks in phase 2 of the challenge. Read More →

• Prize Competition - Launch

  Reclamation launched a new prize competition to detect subsurface cracks in embankment dams

  March 12, 2026 — The Bureau of Reclamation launched Crack the Case, a multi-phased prize competition, to develop methods capable of detecting and locating subsurface cracks within embankment dams, including cracks with no surface expression. Winning ideas will share in a total prize purse of $400,000. Read More →

• Prize Competition - Launch

  Reclamation launched a new prize competition to prevent the spread of invasive aquatic species

  Feb. 26, 2026 — The Bureau of Reclamation launched a new prize competition, Halt the Hitchhiker, to address aquatic invasive species in watercraft ballast. The competition is muti-phased and seeks to innovative approached that can kill, exclude, or inactivate invasive species while still safe for watercraft, users, and the environment. Winning ideas will share in a total prize purse of $550,000. Read More →

• Prize Competition - Award

  Reclamation Awards $250,000 for Seal Team Fix prize competition Phase 1

  Jan. 7, 2026 — The Bureau of Reclamation has selected five phase one winners for the Seal Team Fix prize competition to design a rapid, high-pressure seal to control failed dam conduits and safeguard water and power. Solvers selected to move to Phase 2 will share in the $225,000 prize purse for Phase 2. Read More →

• Prize Competition - Launch

  Reclamation launched a new prize competition to seal pressurized dam conduits and strengthen dam safety across Reclamation facilities

  July 22, 2025 — The Bureau of Reclamation launched a new prize competition, Seal Team Fix, to design a rapid, high-pressure seal to control failed dam conduits and safeguard water and power. This competition unfolds in three phases: a short-format concept white paper, a funded prototype build, and a lab-scale hydraulic demonstration. Up to $575,000 in prizes is on the line, along with the chance to safeguard water and power for millions across the American West. Read More →

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