CWA is inviting innovators around the world to trial and demonstrate their cutting-edge technologies across Lake Erie and its surrounding natural environments.

The Lake Erie Watershed Testbed, CWA’s telecommunications infrastructure that allows for the monitoring of water quality and conditions, has officially opened for the 2022 field season. Worldwide water-focused companies of all sizes - from global industry leaders looking to test technologies under various conditions before commercial release to first-time entrepreneurs developing disruptive technologies - are now able to apply to test and demonstrate new Internet of Things (IoT) sensor and monitoring technologies through October of this year.

“Cleveland Water Alliance has created an easy avenue not only for innovators to refine and demonstrate their technologies, but also for users to evaluate for themselves what’s going to make a positive difference in their processes," said Andrew Luessenhop, Regional Sales Manager at In-Situ Environmental, an organization that utilized the Lake Erie Watershed Testbed in 2021 and is preparing to deploy again this year.

CWA’s innovation programs allow ideas and prototypes to move from the lab to a real-world environment, a process that traditionally has been complicated and exclusionary. The Testbeds leverage a network of locations across a wide range of natural environments with varying conditions - including ponds, streams, creeks, rivers, and open water - and provide innovators with opportunities to utilize benchmarking equipment and processes to test and tweak their technologies against industry standards while receiving expert guidance to establish proof of concept.

“With global water stress on the rise, innovation around how we use, protect, remediate, and fortify water sources and infrastructure is critical to the future of industries, communities, and economies around the world,” said Ebie Holst, Director of Clusters and Innovation at Cleveland Water Alliance. “CWA is creating a sandbox to help the industry evolve best-in-class solutions, and accelerate them to market by creating opportunities for innovators to gain insights on technology performance and exposure with early adopters, potential buyers, and the broader market.”

Complete our intake form or contact innovate@clewa.org for more information about engaging with CWA’s innovation programs and to stay informed about upcoming challenges and deadlines.

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