Solving the freshwater future of the Prairies: young innovators awarded at AquaHacking finale

CALGARY, AB, Feb. 6, 2026 /CNW/ - A dynamic group of young innovators gathered at the Platform Innovation Centre in Calgary to pitch market-ready solutions to the escalating water issues facing the Prairies, with top teams taking home more than $35,000 in seed funding.

The Dragon's Den–style event finale marked the culmination of a transformative eight-month journey, during which aspiring entrepreneurs received expert coaching, mentorship, and peer collaboration to accelerate their ideas into viable solutions ready for real-world deployment through the AquaHacking Prairies Challenge.

In total, five projects were presented addressing critical water issues, including efficient water use in agriculture, community decision-making tools for extreme hydrological events, and invasive species management. Throughout the Challenge, each team grounded their work in field-based scientific expertise while weaving Indigenous knowledge into their design process.

Supported by Alberta Innovates, Prairies Economic Development Canada, and the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources, an expert panel of judges ultimately declared this year's winners of the grand prize of $20,000.

"The Prairies are facing unprecedented water challenges," said Soula Chronopoulos, President of AquaAction. "These young innovators represent the future of how we will overcome these challenges through cutting-edge innovation and secure our precious freshwater resources. Congratulations to all the finalists for your care and commitment to building the change we want to see."

The Winners

Over $35,000 in seed funding was awarded to the solutions voted the most innovative and impactful.

• 1^st Prize Winners – $20,000: Consilience (Sam Lucy Behle, César Pedrosa Soares)
  Their solution, Drift-Eye Swarm is reshaping how we detect and respond to invasive species, offering a fresh and accessible approach to continuous aquatic monitoring. Compact and self-operating, these devices make large-scale aquatic surveillance accessible to local communities, helping prevent ecological and economic damage before it spreads.
  
  
• 2^nd Prize Winners - $10,000: Purus Aqua (Daniel Bielecki, Justyn Deenoo, Om Shah, Tejas Sarkar)
  A passive filtration system designed to sit in prairie trenches and capture contaminants from runoff and snowmelt. This small-scale, low-maintenance solution supports sustainable agriculture by improving water quality and reducing pollution entering local waterways. 
  
  
• 3^rd Prize Winners - $5,000: Reverbio (Matthew Gaiser, Nicholas Lor)
  Their solution uses bioacoustic monitoring (underwater microphones combined with AI) to listen for the unique sound "fingerprints" of invasive species like Prussian Carp, goldfish, and zebra mussels. By detecting these invaders long before they are visible, it provides real-time alerts to communities, governments, and Indigenous stewards, making early intervention faster, cheaper, and more effective.
  
  
• People's Choice Award - $1,000: NAID Solutions (Princess Cortes, Manju Thomas)
  Their solution, a web-based application that transforms local knowledge and real-time community reports into verified, geolocated evidence on an interactive map, ensures urgent environmental warnings are seen and acted upon. By combining live reporting, sentiment analysis, and an accountability ledger, it preserves traditional knowledge and connects people facing shared challenges with those who can help.
  
  
• Two-Eyed Seeing Award – $1,000: Purus Aqua (Daniel Bielecki, Justyn Deenoo, Om Shah, Tejas Sarkar) 
  A passive filtration system designed to sit in prairie trenches and capture contaminants from runoff and snowmelt. This small-scale, low-maintenance solution supports sustainable agriculture by improving water quality and reducing pollution entering local waterways.

Quotes 

"Congratulations to all the finalists of the AquaHacking Prairies Program 2025. Your dedication and ingenuity are driving real solutions for freshwater challenges in the Prairies. We're eager to see these ideas put into action and deliver tangible benefits for our environment and communities"  

• Vicki Lightbown, Executive Director of Environmental Innovation at Alberta Innovates

"The Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER) is proud to stand alongside the finalists on this journey, and we're genuinely inspired by the care, creativity, and ambition behind the solutions you've brought forward. By weaving Indigenous knowledge together with sustainable approaches to water, you're helping to shape practical, lasting change and setting a powerful example for what climate resilience and Two-eyed seeing can look like across the Prairies."

• Shianne McKay, Co-Executive Director, Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER)

"At Glencore, we know water is an increasingly precious resource that communities across Canada rely on for their health, livelihoods, and future. That's why we are proud to team up with AquaAction to back the entrepreneurs and innovators who are rolling up their sleeves and tackling the pressing water issues head-on. Congratulations to all the teams for your commitment to making a meaningful difference where it matters most."

• Sheila Risbud, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs Canada at Glencore

Quick Facts  

Through its flagship programs, including AquaHacking, AquaAction has catalyzed the launch of over 120+ water tech enterprises, that have resulted in:

• $200M+ in annual revenues
• Over 38,0000 Olympic swimming pools of water saved 
• 400+ green jobs created in the blue economy
• Countless other environmental, social and economic benefits to watersheds.

The Prairies AquaHacking Challenge is proudly supported and funded by the de Gaspé Beaubien Foundation, RBC, Ovivo, Alberta Innovates, Canada Water Agency and Prairies Economic Development Canada. 

Co-designed to incorporate a Two-Eyed Seeing approach, the program welcomed Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadian post-secondary students and young professionals eager to apply their skills and talent in a hands-on way to address the freshwater crisis.

The three water issues for this Challenges are:

• Invasive Species Management: Focus on nature-based solutions to control and prevent invasive species. 
• Small-Scale Agricultural Water Management: Enhance drought resilience, improve irrigation, prevent evaporation and runoff, and support local food security and sovereignty. 
• Small-Scale & Community Decision-Making Tools for Extreme Water Events: Provide accessible data and cost-benefit tools to empower communities in building resilient, sustainable green and low-impact infrastructure

To see examples of past winners of the AquaHacking program and their innovations, visit: https://aquaaction.org/en/portfolio/tech-solutions 

To learn more about the finalist teams, visit: https://blog.aquaaction.org/en/aquaaction/canada-is-overflowing-with-talent-meet-the-finalists-of-the-aquahacking-prairies-challenge

About AquaAction 

At AquaAction, we develop leaders to protect and restore our most vital resource: freshwater. We empower people, from young innovators to community advocates, to protect and restore freshwater through innovation, advocacy, and conservation. By supporting entrepreneurship, advancing education and awareness, and driving policy change, we help communities build resilience and ensure access to clean water for generations to come. Our mission is simple yet profound: a generation of leaders safeguarding freshwater for the health of people and the planet.  

SOURCE AquaAction

Melanie Fontaine, Senior Manager, Media and Communications, [email protected]