2017 Finalists

The Stockholm Junior Water Prize
Each year, the Stockholm Junior Water Prize congregates young scientists and innovators from around the world who have created new solutions to the planet’s growing water challenges. Each of the finalists represented in Stockholm are the champions of
their national competition and have been selected as winners from thousands of entries for their outstanding work.
This year we are proud to host the 21st annual competition andwelcome the winners of national competitions from 33 countries:
Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Chile,
China, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy,
Japan, Latvia, Mexico, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, RussianFederation, Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom
and United States of America.
The Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition proves thatbrilliant young minds can find inspiration in unlikely places.
They see opportunity and hope where others find challenges andhave developed cost-efficient and immediate solutions, applicable
the world over. In this catalogue, you can learn more about theinnovative research and inventions that earned each of the finalists a
place to compete for this international honor.

All the finalists are invited to Stockholm for the special
opportunity to meet with leaders of the global water community
and to make life-long friendships with likeminded youth fromaround the world who share the passion for water and science. Thisvisit includes the chance to receive the international prize from
H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden during an exciting
award ceremony which will be held this year on Tuesday August
29th at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm.
World Water Week participants have the opportunity to meetthis next generation of water leaders by visiting the poster exhibitionin Norra Latin, floor 3.

The international jury
The competitions’ international jury includes experts within thefield of water who appoint the winner of the international final bycommittee consensus. The decision is based on the finalists’ written report, a short presentation of their display material and threerounds of interviews. The jury members are appointed by Stockholm International Water Institute Board.
All members of the jury have extensive experience and represent a wide range of disciplines from natural to social sciences inorder to ensure all projects are equally reviewed and judged.

The 2017 International Jury Members• Ms. Victoria Dyring (Chair), Sweden• Ms. Fabienne Bertrand, Haiti• Dr. Paula Owen, UK• Prof. Krishna R. Pagilla, USA• Prof. Yoshihisa Shimizu, Japan• Mr. Johan Bratthäll, Sweden• Mr. Manuel Fulchiron, France

Cover Photo: Jonas Berg
Design by: Johannes Ernstberger, SIWI.
Printing by Molind. The printing process has been certified according to the Nordic Swan label forenvironmental quality. For electronic versions of this and other SIWI publications, visit www.siwi.org.

IndexArgentina, Australia, Bangladesh
Belarus, Brazil, Canada
Chile, China, Cyprus
Finland, France, Germany
Hungary, Israel, Italy
Japan, Latvia, Mexico
The Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway
Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Singapore
South Africa, Spain, Sweden
Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey
Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America

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About the Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition
The competition is open to young people between the age of 15
and 20 who have conducted water-related projects at local, regional,
national or global levels with environmental, scientific, social and/or
technological importance. The aim of the competition is to increaseawareness, interest and knowledge of water and the environment.

The international winner will receive an award of USD 15,000
and a prize sculpture, the winner’s school receives USD 5,000 and
the winner of the Diploma of Excellence USD 3,000. H.R.H.
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden is the patron of the Stockholm
Junior Water Prize and Xylem Inc. is the global sponsor.

National
Organiser
Asociacion
Argentina deIngeniería Sanitaria y Cienciasdel Ambiente(AIDIS- Argentina)
Sponsors
AySA, Xylem
Inc, Coca Cola
Femsa

National
OrganiserHouse of
Volunteers
Foundation
Sponsors
House of
Volunteers
Foundation
Bangladesh,
WaterAid
Bangladesh

4

Argentina
Physical Adsorption of Arsenic
Nadia Molteni and Nazareno
Rodriguez

National
Organiser
Australian
Water
Association
Sponsors
Xylem

Different samples of underground waterfrom different sectors of the city of Bahía
Blanca and Las Toscas, Argentina, werecollected in the present work. In order todeterminate a method for Arsenic (As)retention, chicken eggshells underwent
a heat treatment at high temperatures inorder to form hydroxyapatite (HAp), a
compound capable of retaining Arsenic.
In this way, mass transfer for the water
to the material obtained was studied,taking advantage of a common household
waste’s physical adsorption properties.

Australia
The SOLAR SYSTEM: An invention to
produce STERILE water for medical
use for developing Communities
Macinley Butson
The SOLAR SYSTEM, consistingof three distinctive parts all working
together, has been invented to provide
both clean potable drinking water for
a community in need as well as sterilewater for medical use. It produces its
own energy (at 75% higher output
than a conventional fixed solar panel)by utilizing a dripping water system
which is then collected and filtered toprovide clean potable drinking water. The
collected power and some of the filteredwater is then pressurized by the system toproduce medical grade sterile water in an“all in one” self-contained unit.

Bangladesh
Reinvention of Photocatalysis using doped TiO2 in industrial grey water treatment
Aniruddah Chowdhury, Arnab Chakraborty and Rituraj Das Gupta
The textile industry is the lifeline of
our nation’s economy. However, its
effluent discharge, constituting mainly
industrial dyes, is heavily affecting ourmajor water bodies. Our research focuseson treating coloured water in textile
effluents using TiO2 photocatalyst.
Methods of doping TiO2 using cheap,
locally sourced, chemicals were studied toenhance photocatalysis under visible lightirradiation. Experiments were conductedto study the efficiency of our composite
in degradation of methylene blue using
UV-Vis spectroscopy. Our composite
was found to be 26% more effective thanundoped TiO2.

National
Organiser
Republican
EcologicalCenterSponsors
Coca-Cola
Beverages
BelarusBelarus
The portable device for defining
nitrate ion concentration in surface
and ground waters
Daniil Sharoikin
It is widely known that nitrates foundin water are 1.25 times more toxic thanthose found in food. In order to define
nitrate ion concentrations in surface andground waters, a portable handmade
device was constructed - the colorimeter,
working on the basis of the BouguerLambert-Beer law. The device is not
expensive to construct, It is easy to use
even in field experiments, and it can beutilized by students from all over theworld in studies of water sources.

National
Organiser
Western Canada Water
Environment Association
Sponsors
Water Environment
Association of Ontario,
Western Canada Water,
Canadian Junior Stockholm
Water Prize Committee,
Canada Wide Science Fair,
Town of Oakville, Ontario,
City of Durham, Ontario,
Associated Engineering
Limited, Canada

National
Organiser
National Youth
Parliament for
Water (PNJA),
Brazilian Water
Resources
Association(ABRH)
Sponsors
FBDS - Fundação
Brasileira Para oDesenvolvimento
Sustentável,SABESP Companhia deSaneamento
Básico do Estadode São Paulo

BrazilSolution for the Treatment of Water
on Cisterns Installed in Brazil
Beatriz Ruscetto da Silva, Matheus
Henrique Cezar da Silva, Gabriel
Gertrudes Trindade
The northeast of Brazil is characterized bya semi-arid climate and chronic drought.
Public policies have stimulated domestic
use of cisterns to store water. However,the quality of collected water can be athreat to people’s health, due to exposure
to contaminants. In this project we developed a device, with low-cost material,
to generate chlorine by an electrolysis
process from a saline solution. The energy
may come from a photovoltaic panel,
which makes it an autonomous equipment to perform water treatment. Lab
tests affirmed the prototype’s efficiency
against cistern’s water contamination.

CanadaFluid Foam Development: A Novel Approach to Heavy Metal
Contamination from Effluent Water
Nicole Schmidt
Through this project, a method tocreate and stabilize bulk bubble
foam was developed. The bulk
bubble foam was used to successfully
separate ultra-fine heavy metal
particles dispersed in industrial
processing water and groundwater.
Through a reduction in thefrequency of bubble coalescence,

it increased the agglomeration rateof the foam, improving overall
stability and density, which increased
the total recovery percentage ofparticulate matter from the fluid
system.

5

National
Organiser
General Water
Directorate,
CazalacSponsors
Aguas Andinas,
Nestlé, Colbún,
Ministry of
Education,
Fundación
Chile, Chilean
Chapter of theinternational
Hydrological
Programme,
Sochid, Ahlsud,
Aidis

National
Organiser
Water Museum ofLemesos

6

Sponsors
Water Board ofLemesos, PWC Cyprus, Hellenic Bank,
Bank of Cyprus,
Sewerage Board ofLimassol-Amathus,
USB Bank, Universal
Life, Green Dot Cyprus, Phileleftheros
Newspaper

Chile
Marine Benthos Characterizationin Chilean Antarctica Using an
Environmentally-Friendly ROV
Pamela Noche and Catalina Taccone
The marine benthos are bottom-dwellingorganisms that scientists want to study
because they yield valuable data on waterpollution, and its harmful effects, and canbe a source of biological resources. But
the need to study the marine benthos
poses the question of the most appropriate methods to do so. We developed a
ROV prototype, for example designed tocollect underwater images, carry UV andmeasure temperature. It collects evidenceof its impact on bottom-dwelling organisms without affecting the environment.

National
Organiser
The Center for
Environmental
Education &Communicationsof State
Environmental
Protection
Administration(SEPA CEEC)
Sponsors
Institute of
Oceanology
ChineseAcademyof sciences(IOCAS),
Qingdao HuaRen
Pharmaceutical
Packaging
Material
Technology co.,
LTD

China
Synthesis of A Novel Chitosan Resinand Its Application in Removal of
Heavy Metal Ions from Water
Minzhang Li, Huilin Chen and Zekai
Wang
Water pollution caused by heavy metals
inflicts great threat on environmentand human beings. The purpose of thisproject was to utilize huge amounts ofabandoned crab and shrimp shells by
converting it into a high-efficient adsorbent to remove heavy metals from water.
A novel chitosan resin (EDTAEC) was
designed, synthesized, characterized andapplied successfully. Experimental data
revealed that EDTAEC had an outstanding performance on adsorption of heavy
metals from waste water. The new resin
EDTAEC, which is reusable, showed
great potential in scavenging heavy metal
ions from water.

CyprusExploiting Biological Treatment Plants with the aim to Generate Electrical Energy
Ioannis Theodorou, Dimitris Karapanagiotis and Nikol Papageorgiou
We investigated the amount of methane
produced by the Biological Treatment
Plant recycling waste water in our schooland how methane can be exploited to generate electrical energy. We also researchedseveral different plants similar to our own
and visited the Sewerage Board to understand the process. We collected samples ofwaste water from the plant for a Chemical
Oxygen Demand analysis, and investi-

gated if there was a sufficient productionof methane to use it for electricity production. Based on the results we could expand
our project further in terms of how toincrease the production of methane.

National
Organiser
Association of
Biology and Geography Teachers
Sponsors
Helsinki Region
Environmental
Services Authority HSY,
Fortum Waste
Solutions Py

National
Organiser
Stiftung Jugend
forscht e. V.
Sponsors
Federal Ministryof Education
and Research,
Germany

Finland
The Effect of the Proximity of Agricultural
Cultivated Fields to a Body of Water on the
Eutrophication Level of the Freshwater Area
Maija Utriainen
Fertilizers, used to make plant cropping
more efficient, often end up in water areas
by dissolving in water and running off along
drains. These fertilizers contain compounds
that may be working as accelerator, or evencause eutrophication of water areas. To answer
the research question “What effect does theproximity of agricultural cultivated fields toa body of water have on the eutrophicationlevel of the freshwater area?”, eutrophicationlevels were analyzed and compared quantitatively and qualitatively between four different
locations, three that were near different kindof sources of fertilizer containing runoff waterand one which was not. Based on the findings
it is hard to conclude whether the proximityof a cultivated field has an effect since theresults from the locations were very similar.

National
Organiser
TERAGIR
Sponsors
The Ministry of
National Education, The Ministry of Higher
Education
and Research,
The Ministryof Ecologicaland Solidarity
Transition, The
6 French Water
Agencies, The
French Water
Partnership,
Sciences & Vie
JuniorFranceWeather RotoSmart
Maeva Pirat, Maud Martinez
Almoyna Carlhand and Emilya Luque«Weather RotoSmart» is a weather
controlled plant wall which has been
designed to grow crops while optimizing water intake. It is meant to: limit thewater intake on a planetary level, because
lentil and buckwheat co-cultivation can
provide all essential amino acids andtherefore replace meat, which requires
large amounts of water to be produced;
limit water loss of our culture thanks to
the rainwater recycling and the integrated
pump; optimize crop growth thanks toseedling spatial distribution, the panel’srotation and the symbiosis provided by
Rhizobium bacteria on the lentil crops;
limit fertilizer intakes which are harmful
for groundwater and thus provide cleaner
drinking water for the living world.

Germany
Condensed milk calibration - a new method to determine turbidity of water
samples at school
Marie Isabel Breuer
When analysing water quality, turbidity
is an important parameter. Because of
the poisonousness of formazine, a newmeasuring standard had to be established
for usage in school. With the help of condensed milk, a calibration graph could
be set up. Using this method, samples
were measured from India and Germany
during a school exchange program on

the topic “Water – basic resource oflife”. This method provides reproducible
results and even more information canbe received. The results will be applied tofuture monitoring of water samples from
Germany and India.

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National
Organiser
Global Water
Partnership
Hungary
Sponsors
Hungarian
Water Utility
Association,
Budapest
Waterworks, GE
Water & Process
Technologies,
Xylem,
HungarianEnergy andPublic Utility
Regulatory
Authority,
Grundfoss

National
Organiser
Federazione delle
Associazioni
Scientifiche e
Tecniche (FAST)

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Sponsors
Aica, Associazione italiana dimetallurgia, Foist,
Fodazione Cariplo,
Fondazione
Salvetti, Xylem,
High patronageof the Ministry of
Education

Hungary”Tanks of Water”- Let’s Play!
Nikolett Szabo, Anna Tari andKristofer Stefan

Through our project we wish to raiseawareness of water footprints. It is
an important, but not widely known
concept. This is why we created a board
game, an easy and effective way to reachstudents. Our game includes 50 question
cards about water, and 28 picture cards.
The goal of the game is to collect water
droplets and whoever has the most water
droplets wins, indicating that water istreasure. Our goal is to never end up witha real life game-over concerning water.

Italy

National
Organiser
Tel-Aviv University, Manuel andRaquel Klachky
Fund, JNF,
Israeli NewTech
Program, Water
Authority
Sponsors
Tel-Aviv University, JNF USA,
Raquel andManuel Klachky
Fund, NewTech
Israel, Israeli
Water Authority

IsraelCatalytic Degradation of Organic
Contaminants in Water by Gold
Nanoparticles and Hydrogen
Peroxide
Noah Golan
This project researched the efficiencyof water pollutants removal by usinghydrogen peroxide as an oxidant andgold nanoparticles as a catalyst. Lissamine green b (LGB), a known color
contaminant used in the food and fashionindustry, was used as a representative
pollutant and its rate of degradation as ameasure of efficiency. Systematic laboratory experiments were made, in which theconcentration of LGB was measured byspectrophotometer while nanoparticles
size and concentration was measured
through electron microscope. The main
finding was that the catalyst caused efficient degradation of the contaminant.

Realization of weather station to monitoring water lagoon in the beach area of
MarsalaDiego Dado, Federico Jacopo Catalano and Alessandro Nuccio
For the purpose of our project, information was collected of the geology, history
and geomorphology of the Stagnone
Lagoon. We performed water tests as well
as designed and built a weather station
to be able to monitor the reserve. The
objective of our project was to gather
more data to inform the public about aproblem looming in the lagoon. For an
overall understanding of the ecosystem’s

health, the weather station is aimed toprovide a large amount of environmental
data, with probes for measuring pH andoxygen levels, exploiting the IoT technology in an open-source database. A web
application will be realized that can build
historical archives.

National
Organiser
Japan River Association
Sponsors
Lion Corporation, CTI Engineering
Co., Ltd., Nippon
Koei Co., Ltd,Tokyo Construction Consultants
Co., Ltd, Pacific
Consultants Co.,
Ltd., Executive
Committee ofRiver Day

Japan
MAP, a useful resource recoveredfrom sewage to increase foodproduction and reduce water pollution
Asuka Masuda, Eolie Nelki Collombonand Ryoma Kondo
Our research project started with greening
the leaves by Japanese lawn grass as reconstruction assistance to the tsunami damageof the Great East Japan Earthquake. We
discovered the weed suppressant andfertilizer effect of magnesium ammonium
phosphate (MAP), recovered from sewage.
We also found that the growth and yieldof the wheat with MAP were equivalent
to or higher than those with compound
fertilizer even in salt-damaged soil. Our
study showed that MAP can be used as
an alternative to compound fertilizers
in cultivation and contribute to reduce
eutrophication.

National
Organiser
FEMISCA (Mexican Federation of Environmental
Engineering), Institute of Engineering, UNAM
Sponsors
Academia Mexicana de Ciencias, Embajada
de Suecia en México, Comisión Nacional delAgua, Instituto Mexicano de la Juventud,
Sistema de Aguas de la Ciudad de México,
Colegio de Ingenieros Ambientales deMéxico AC, Aarhus Karlshamn S.A. De C.V,
Alfa Laval, S. A. de C. V., Atlas Copco Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Ericsson Telecom, S. A. de
C. V., Sandvik de México, S.A. de C.V., SCA
Consumidor México-Centroamérica, Tetra
Pak, S.A. de C.V. and Grupo Urrea

National
OrganiserChildren andYouth Environmental Education
Center “Riga
School of Natural
Sciences”
Sponsors
Riga City Council,
Rigas udens

LatviaMicrobiological quality ofcommercially available drinking waterusing the cultivation method
Ernests Tomass AuzinsWith the classical cultivation method, it
is possible to determine the number ofmicroorganisms including the presenceof Escherichia coli (E. coli) in water samples, which could imply a fecal contamination. The aim was to investigate themicrobiological quality of commerciallyavailable drinking water products and tocompare how the obtained data correlateswith the microbiological parameters given
in local regulations. In our study, we did
not find E. coli in water samples, and9 water samples out of 13 violated thegiven microbiological parameters in therules of the regulations.

MexicoGuava (Psidium guajava) Seeds Adsorption System for Arsenic Removal in
Water from the Aquifer
Jimena Chávez Velasco, Manuel Lucas Mateo and Juan Pablo Zamudio Salazar
The presence of Arsenic (As) in water is amajor health hazard, however, the use ofguava seeds (Psidium guajava) as a bioadsorbent is an option for water sanitation.
In this study, the pulverized seeds were
tested as adsorbents under two conditions:magnetized and natural. Data was analyzed using an adsorption kinetic modelof pseudo-first and second order reactions,which showed that samples treated withnatural seeds removed 81.4% (R 0.83) ofAs via physisorption while the magnetized
seeds removed 66.97% by chemisorption.
The aforementioned occurred due to seedsaturation by magnetic particles which
reduce its adsorbent capacity when used incomplex samples.

9National
Organiser
Wetsus, European centre of
excellence forsustainable water technology
Sponsors
Wetsus - Centreof Excellence
for Sustainable
Water Technology, Platform
Water ontmoet
Water

The Netherlands
Antioxirice - Increasing yield byadding antioxidants after floods
Niels Bouwman and Margot Knapen
Floods are a recurring phenomenon in
many regions all over the world and mostof the crops are destroyed after these
events. Rice plants, after being inundated
by water, are mostly still alive. However,
it is during the time after being desubmerged in which they die. This gives
hope for the post-flood antioxidant spray,
Antioxirice Ltd., that can help plants recover after being submerged that we havedeveloped. The spray can be purchased
and utilized by farmers after their crops
are desubmerged, providing them thepossibility to maintain a stable income
during problematic times.

National
Organiser
Norwegian Water, The Norwegian
Water Association and The Norwegian Hydrological Council

10

Sponsors
Norsk Vann - Norwegian Water,
City of Oslo, Agency for Water
and Wastewater Services, NVE Norwegian Water Resources andEnergy Directorate, Powel, Ulefos
AS representing VVP

National
Organiser
Pan African
Vision for theEnvironment(PAVE)
Sponsors
Swedish Embassy, Abuja,
Nigeria, Pan
African Vision
for the Environment (PAVE),
Lagos, Nigeria,
Federal Ministry of Water
Resources,
Abuja, Nigeria

Nigeria
Pure Water for Life
Muhammed Malami, Fayzal
Ganiyu-Adewumi and Mustapha Bello
Abdulrahman
The aim of this project is to see how we
can curb the incidences of water relateddiseases using Moringa Oleifera andActivated Carbon in a water purification system to help the people in the
Jahi Community, who mainly are poor
peasant farmers who rely on stream water.
We became interested in using ActivatedCarbon (which can be made from firewood) and Moringa Oleifera because of
its availability in the community. We havecreated a prototype of the purification
system and had it demonstrated before
the chief of Jahi village, and now we arepushing the awareness to the entire village
and hoping to get sponsors to build an
advance project for the Jahi people.

NorwayReuse of nutrients from artificial fertilizer, with focus on phosphorus
Kristian Hansen
My project started from a fear of the
future and the phosphorus-crisis thatour planet is facing. In order to solve thisproblem, I wanted to determine if it ispossible to reuse run-off water, and thus
reuse the minerals it contains as fertilizers
for plants. The result of my researchshowed that the plants who was given
run-off water, with higher concentrationof nutrients, got a greater growth. The
conclusion drawn from the results is that
run-off water can be reused and used as
fertilizers for plants, and therefore hopefully solve the future phosphorus- crisis
that is threatening our world.

National
Organiser
Korea Water
Forum
Sponsors
Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure andTransport, Rep. of
Korea; Ministryof Environment,
Rep. of Korea;
Gyeonsangbukdo, Rep. of Korea;
Daegu Metropolitan City, Rep. of
Korea; K-Water,
Rep. of Korea

National
Organiser
Lien Foundation,
Sembcorp Industries, Ngee Ann
Polytechnic
Sponsors
Lien Foundation, Sembcorp
Industries

Republic of
Korea

Development of Rainwater
Reclamation and Reuse System inAgricultural Areas through Use ofDrone and IoT Communication
Eun Soo Lee and Yeokyoung Yoo
Nowadays, steady water levels and optimal
crop conditions have been hard to maintain due to fluctuating weather conditions. By employing technology to gather
data on soil moisture levels and trigger
appropriate responses from water supply
systems, this paper constructs a water
management method that only releases
water when needed and requires minimum
human labor. With a system designed
through Arduino, this project gathersmeasurements through sensors, accumulates data through wireless communication
via drones and enables remote controlof reclaimed rainwater supply throughSmartphone application.

National
Organiser
Environmental
Projects Consulting InstituteSponsors
Federal Ministry of
Natural Resources
and Ecology,
Federal Centre for
Water Complex
Development,
Coca-Cola Hellenic Russia, State
Atomic Energy
Corporation “ROSATOM”, Federal
Agency of Water
Resources, State
Research Center“Planeta”

RussianFederation

Environmental Assessment of River
Uvod within Ivanovo City Limits by
Bioindication Methods
Alexander Golubev
The water quality in River Uvod wasassessed using bioindication methods andwater quality improvement measures were
proposed. The study involved bioindication technique and simple chemical
analysis to assess the quality of water.
Through the project it was concluded
that the water in selected sections of theriver was acceptably clean or mildly polluted. The principal mechanisms of waterpollution included slow-down of rivercurrent, discharge of industrial effluents,
and natural processes such as excessive
growth of aquatic vegetation which produced secondary pollution.

Singapore
Removal of Heavy Metals and Tetracycline using Cost-Effective and Readily Available Materials
Kia Teng Lim and Jiahao Zhou
Heavy metals and antibiotics are commonly found in water bodies and theremoval is costly. Our study showedthat red beans and green beans, bamboo
biochar and SG Al-WTR are all extremely
efficient in removing metal ions and tetracycline. Adsorption reached equilibriumin 120 minutes under the Freundlich
isotherm model. The optimal pH andtemperature for beans were pH 6-7 and
25 °C, while the adsorption by bamboo
biochar was unaffected. Our findings
highlight the potential use of these costeffective, eco-friendly and readily available natural sources for water treatment.

11

National
Organiser
Department of
Water Affairs andForestrySponsors
Water ResearchCommission,
Departmentof Science andTechnology,
Cape PeninsulaTechnology,
Coca Cola

National
Organiser
Förbundet
Unga Forskare
Sponsors
Xylem

12South Africa

National
Organiser
La Escuela delAgua

Water Wastage a Thing of a Past
Mmola Desmond Kutullo, Mokgotho
Temogelo Thami and Nkwane Wayne
Luka
South Africa has a problem of water scarcity
and water wastage is very high in our schools
and communities. Water is wasted mainly
during break time when we have to wash ourhands and food containers, and taps remain
unclosed after use. We decided to come up
with a mechanism to address and put an end
to the waste water challenge we are currently
facing. The system uses three aspects- a sensor
that can sense an individual’s hands and turns
the system on discharging water, a timer thatis set to discharge water for a certain period ortill it fills a certain volume, and a soak-awaythat absorbs the water under the tap, recharges
the groundwater and refills the water table
underneath.

Sponsors
Fundación
Aquae

Spain
Microalgae and slurry, a new sourceof Resources
Rita Blasi Alsinal
With the aim of finding a profitable system to treat surplus slurry and to obtainproducts of high added value, we worked
with microalgae and advanced wastewater
treatment techniques (electrocoagulation). The microalga Synechococcus
nidulans was selected as the most efficient
microalga for slurry treatment, based on
the elimination of the total quantity ofnitrogen and the biomass production.
The strain selected, together with the
optimal slurry concentration determined(32%), allowed us to develop a monoculture on a large scale which gave maximum productivity and efficiency.

SwedenEffective Environmentally-friendly Efforts
Hannah Bassek
To increase the effect of environmentallyfriendly efforts, a three-step strategy forraising climate awareness was developed.
The strategy builds on making abstract
climate changes concrete and integrates
Aristotle’s Rhetoric. Awareness wastargeted as it might contribute towards
streamlining climate action. This is illustrated by a constructed two-dimensionalmodel, presenting the relationship be-

tween climate awareness, climate politics
and the effect of environmentally-friendly
efforts. Ultimately this could result in theworld coming one step closer towards amore sustainable society.

National
Organiser
Swiss Toilet
Organisation
Sponsors
Swiss Water Partnership (Host),
cewas, seecon

National
Organiser
General Directorate of State
Hydraulic Works(DSI)
Sponsors
DSI Foundation

Switzerland
Algae-Based Bioplastics – A solution
approach to the global plasticpollution of the ocean
Anna Lena Klein
This project serves as a minor contribution towards fighting the serious environmental issue of marine plastic pollution.
The purpose of this work is to provide an
insight into alternative “bioplastics” byexamining a new approach using alginates
instead of corn or potato starch as raw
material. An algae -based bioplastic isself-produced and its degradability tested
and assessed. The use of (algae-based)bioplastic film can possibly become an
efficient means of reducing the plastic
pollution in our oceans.

National
Organiser
The Institute for
the Promotion ofTeaching Science
technology (IPST)
Sponsors
IPST, Government
Saving Bank,
Metropolitan
Waterworks
Authority, Nestle’(Thailand) ltd.

ThailandA Remote Water Quality Monitoring
System in Bang Pood Canal and Chao
Phraya River
Peeranat Meechai, Paramate
Mahasakpitak and Napat Yodruk
An automatic system is developed tomonitor water quality in Bang Pood
Canal and Chao Phraya River in Nonthaburi Province. The prototype boat works
by integrating an EV3 Microcontroller
Lego and ATX2 Microcontroller Inex.
The prototype can work automatically,
continuously and report water quality survey data through Cloud Storage
system which working together with GPS
system can identify areas where water
resources are problematic. The efficiencyof the monitoring system is examined;
it indicates that the outcomes are as expected. The data results from the sensors
are accurate.

TurkeyNanoplasmonic Microfluidic Chip Platform for Rapid
Detection of Pathogens in Drinking Water
Hüseyin Mert Asal and Anil Ertekin
We aimed to develop a cost-effective
methodology, that could be utilized byeveryone without professional aid, todetermine the types of bacteria in drinking
water and be used in food safety applications. In our project, an antibody-antigen
interaction was used to eliminate interferences. We determined the presence of theE.coli DH5-alpha species in nanoplas-

monic microfluidic chip, created withgold nanoparticles of 22 nm diameter size,
depending on the color change.

13

National
Organiser
NGO Ukrainian
water society“WaterNet”
Sponsors
Dow Chemical,
Ecosoft, NTUU
Kyiv Polytechnic
Institute, Embassyof Sweden in
Ukraine, Kievvodokanal, Ministryof Environment
and Natural
Resources

National
Organiser
Water Environment Federation
Sponsors
Water Environment Federation, Xylem, Inc.

14

UkraineEnvironmental friendly washing
Anastasiia Livochka
Through this project a new way of washing was invented, which is that detergent is fed slowly and in small portions
with constant monitoring of change intransparency of the detergent solution. It
was found to result in detergent savings,
from 25% to 75%, and water savings,
from 10% to 30%, and it could lead toworldwide annual savings to be assessedin tens of billions of euros. In the processof the project research, a mock-up modelof the washing machine was made, whichclearly demonstrated that for all detergents and types of fabrics, a minimum
amount of used detergent and water canbe guaranteed without compromisingwith the washing quality.

National
Organiser
CIWEM(Chartered
Institutionof Water andEnvironmental
Management)
Sponsors
Chartered
Institutionof Water andEnvironmental
Management,
Cranfield University

United Kingdom
A Novel, Photocatalytic, LeadSequestering Bioplastic for
Sustainable Water Purification
Krtin Kanna Nithiyanandam
The aim of this project was to synthesisea novel, photocatalytic, lead-sequestering
bioplastic for sustainable water purification. Cellulose, a complex carbohydrate
and the world’s most abundant organic
resource, provided the basis for synthesising the bioplastic capable of facilitating
an advanced oxidation process (AOP).
The bioplastic developed in this study
uses readily available resources, canwithstand strenuous use and is insoluble
in water, thus opening numerous possibilities for sustainable, multimodal andcost-effective environmental remediation
and water purification.

United States of America
A Novel Approach to Rapidly and Sensitively Detect and Purify Water
Contaminated with Shigella, E. coli, Salmonella, and Cholera
Ryan Thorpe and Rachel Chang
3.4 million deaths occur annually due towaterborne diseases, yet, the conventional
methods for bacterial detection take 1-2
days and have detection limits of up to
1000 colonies. This study constructeda more rapid and sensitive method todetect and purify water contaminatedwith the prevalent waterborne bacterium.
These sensors detected 1 CFU of eachbacterium in 1 L of water instantaneously,
and the purification unit safely eliminatedbacterial presence in ~10s. This system
could prevent the contraction and outbreak of waterborne diseases and expand
potable water throughout the world.

2016 Stockholm Junior Water Prize Finalists

Stockholm Junior Water Prize gathers imaginative young minds from all over the world. In 2016, the 50 finalists came from 29 countries to World Water
Week to participate in the international final of Stockholm Junior Water Prize and to discuss their projects with the wide range of conference attendees,
including researchers, politicians and media.

15

Stockholm Junior Water Prize Winners, 1997-2016
2016 | Sureeporn Triphetprapa, Thidarat 			Phianchat and Kanjana Komkla, Thailand“Natural innovative water retention Mimicry
Bromeliad (Aechmea aculeatosepala)”“I’m really happy but I think every team is the best! And thank you
everyone”, said Kanjana Komkla after the three received the prize. Asked
how she would want to take the winning project further, Sureeporn
Triphetprapa said: “I will use our idea to relieve poverty in our community.”
The Jury was impressed by the winners’ exceptional creativity, unrelenting diligence, enthusiasm and true passion for water.
“The theme of the 2016 World Water Week is Water for Sustainable
Growth. The winning project addresses future water security and rural
livelihoods using an elegant leap-frog technology which looks simple,
but its beauty masks its complexity! The project embodies the theme
well through its journey from the idea to application. It has alreadyproven to be scalable and is now being tested in the field, by hundredsof farmers, who are now benefiting from the inspiration from beautiful
plants which have an exceptional capacity to collect and store water.” theJury said in its citation.

2015 | Perry Alagappan, USA“Novel renewable filter for heavymetal removal”
2014 | Hayley Todesco, Canada“Waste to water: Biodegrading naphthenic acids usingnovel sand filters”
2013 | Naomi Estay & Omayra Toro, Chile“Psychiobacter: Antarctic co-operation on bioremediation of oil-contaminated waters”
2012 | Luigi Marshall Cham, Jun Yong Nicholas Lim and Tian
Ting Carrie-Anne Ng, Singapore“Investigation of the use of sodium-activated benton
ite clay in the removal and recovery of non-ionic surfactants from wastewater”

Sureeporn Triphetprapa, Thidarat Phianchat and Kanjana Komkla
from Thailand received the 2016 Stockholm Junior Water Prize for
their innovative water retention device that mimics the water retention of the Bromeliad plant. In 2016, H.R.H. Prince Carl Philip of
Sweden presented the prize in absence of his sister H.R.H. Crown
Princess Victoria of Sweden who is the Patron of the prize.

2011 | Alison Bick, USA“Development and evaluation of a microfluidic co-flow
device to determine water quality”
2010 | Alexandre Allard and Danny Luong, Canada“Research on biodegradation of he plastic polysterene”
2009 | Ceren Burçak Dag, Turkey“A solution to energy-based water contamination:
Rain as an alternative environmentally friendly energy
source”
2008 | Joyce Chai, USA“Modelling the toxic effects of silver nanoparticles
under varying environmental conditions”

2007 | Adriana Alcántara Ruiz, Dalia Graciela Díaz Gómez andCarlos Hernández Mejía, Mexico“Elimination of Pb(II) from water via bio-adsorption
using eggshells”
2006 | Wang Hao, Xiao Yi and Weng Jie, China“Application research and practice of a comprehensive
technology for restoring urban river channels ecologically”
2005 | Pontso Moletsane, Motebele Moshodi and Sechaba
Ramabenyane, South Africa“Nocturnal hydro minimiser”

1999 | Rosa Lozano, Elisabeth Pozo and Rocío Ruiz, Spain“Echinoderms as biological indicators of water quality
in the Alborán Sea coast”
1998 | Robert Franke, Germany“The Aquakat – A solar-driven reactor for the decontamination of industrial wastewater”
1997 | Stephen Tinnin, USA“Changes in development, sperm activity and reproduction across a 105 exposure range in Lytechinus
Variegatus Gametes exposed to pesticides in marine
media”

2004 | Tsutomu Kawahira, Daisuke Sunakawa and Kaori Yamaguti, Japan“The organic fertilizer – An alternative to commercial
fertilizers”
2003 | Claire Reid, South Africa“Water wise reel gardening”
2002 | Katherine Holt, USA“Cleaning the Chesapeake Bay with oysters”
2001 | Magnus Isacson, Johan Nilvebrant and Rasmus Öman,Sweden“Removal of metal ions from leachate”
2000 | Ashley Mulroy, USA“Correlating residual antibiotic contamination in public
water to the drug resistance of Escherichia Coli”
WWW.SIWI.ORG/STOCKHOLMJUNIORWATERPRIZEWatertank

The world’s best young water minds, their water projects, and the global community that supports them.
Water Tank is a community for the finalists of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition. It allows participants to connect
and collaborate with each other and with advisors and partners, in order to advance their water projects and develop careers ina water-related field.
WaterTank showcases projects and success stories and provides educational resources and job opportunities from both SIWI
and its partners.
Get involved! Contact Ania Andersch at ania.andersch@siwi.org

WWW.WATERTANK.SE

LET’S FOCUS
ON EARTH’S
MOST VALUABLERESOURCE.
LET’S SOLVEWATER.

Water is infinitely renewable but the amount of water on earth is fixed.
At Xylem, we provide SUSTAINABLE solutions to our customers’ water challenges. We design andmanufacture advanced technologies to move, treat and test water and wastewater in sustainable ways.
Our 16,000-strong global team is dedicated to expanding access to clean, safe water today and renewing
this valuable resource for future generations. Learn more at sustainability.xylem.com.

xylem.com

Do you want to be part of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize?
For more information about leading a national competition in your country or opportunities to contribute,please contact
ania.andersch@siwi.org

FOUNDING GLOBAL SPONSORCONTRIBUTOR

WITH THANKSS TO CK H O L M I N T ER N ATI O N A L
WAT ER IN S T IT U T E , SIW I
Box 101 87 | SE-100 55 , Stockholm, Sweden
Visiting address: Linnégatan 87A
PHONE +46 121 360 00 • FA X +46 121 360 01
EMAIL siwi@siwi.org • www.siwi.org