“A professional from Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District can connect with a team in Buffalo just as easily as a team in Cleveland, making the wealth of institutional knowledge and practical experience held by our mentors easily and equally available to all participants.”

— MAX ON THIS YEAR'S ERIE HACK

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Erie Hack is back! Erie Hack is an innovation competition that focuses on finding technology solutions to Lake Erie’s most pressing problems. It was first launched in 2017 with a second iteration in 2019. 2021 will bring about our third Erie Hack, and as a preview to this year’s challenge, we wanted to feature a few key people, including our partners in Detroit, Toledo, and Buffalo. Look out for more information!

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Erie Hack is grateful to have the continued support of Max Herzog, Program Manager at Cleveland Water Alliance (CWA). Having hosted the Erie Hack Finals since the event’s inception in 2017, Cleveland has been established as a national hub of water technology innovation. CWA looks forward to enhancing this positioning through continued efforts to support the development of new technologies, the education of hundreds of students, and the investment of hundreds of thousands in the regional innovation ecosystem.

Herzog has played a crucial role in the advancement of Erie Hack’s mission through his passion for connecting citizens with pressing water issues facing the region. Herzog enjoys discussing these issues with those who may be less familiar with the water space and the resulting “ah ha” moments when they realize how important water solutions and the water economy are in our community and beyond. These moments encourage problem-solvers to dedicate their time to combat water problems and positively impact the Cleveland community and the Lake Erie Basin as a whole.

With the event shifting to a primarily virtual format due to COVID-19, Herzog and the rest of the team at CWA look forward to the benefit of being able to seamlessly connect mentors with Erie Hack teams throughout the Lake Erie Basin and allowing for the knowledge, experience, and support of our mentors to encourage the development of all participants.

Herzog is also dedicated to supporting successful teams after the competition to expand their efforts in the water innovation space. For example, a 2017 winning team from University of Akron, Erie Open Systems (previously Water Warriors), has received support services in the form of R&D investment by CWA as well as through involvement in CWA’s Smart Citizen Science Initiative.

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