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By Alice Gibbs
Senior Reporter
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The U.S. government is offering cash prizes of up to $200,000 to anyone who can help stop the spread of destructive aquatic invasive species that cost the country more than $1 billion a year.
The Bureau of Reclamation has launched a new competition aimed at preventing invasive species from spreading through watercraft ballast compartments, where small amounts of trapped water can carry organisms between lakes and rivers.
The initiative, called the "Halt the Hitchhiker: Invasive Species Challenge", is designed to encourage new ideas that can safely kill, exclude or inactivate invasive species without harming boats, people or the environment.
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Quagga, zebra and golden mussels are invasive species that can spread from one body of water to another by hitching rides on boats. Even small amounts of leftover water trapped inside ballast compartments can carry them to new lakes and rivers.
Once introduced, these species can cause serious problems for water systems. Damage to infrastructure is caused because they attach themselves in large numbers to hard surfaces underwater.
Federal water managers say the mussels can build up inside pipes, pumps and intake systems that move water to cities, farms and power plants, sometimes clogging them or reducing how well they work.
The Bureau of Reclamation says they damage infrastructure used to deliver water and generate hydropower, creating widespread economic and environmental harm across the western United States.
According to the agency, quagga and zebra mussels alone cost more than $1 billion every year nationwide to control and repair the damage they cause.
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How The Prize Works
The prize challenge will run in three phases, with cash awards available at each stage.
In the first phase, up to six participants will receive up to $25,000 each for proposing new ballast inspection or decontamination concepts that do not generate hazardous waste or damage watercraft.
Selected teams will then move on to a virtual pitch phase, where up to three winners can earn up to $50,000 for demonstrating a path toward an engineered design.
In the final phase, teams will develop prototypes for laboratory‑scale testing.
The Bureau of Reclamation said up to three winners will be awarded prizes of up to $125,000 for first place, $75,000 for second place and $50,000 for third place.
The competition is open to participants from all technical domains and industries.
The Bureau of Reclamation has contracted with technology‑scouting firm yet2 to administer the challenge, with additional details on eligibility and deadlines available through the program’s website.
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