Freelancer, in partnership with GEONOR, is running a contest with a total prize purse of $300,000 USD on behalf of Bureau of Reclamation, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and NASA Tournament Lab. The Counting Every Drop Challenge seeks solutions to improve designs for ground-based precipitation measurement devices (precipitation gauges) that will be used to better inform water management decisions critical for human safety and environmental health, including forecasting, water supplies, monitoring water-year precipitation, controlling floods, and planning for irrigation needs.

Enter now for the chance to win a portion of the Phase 1 $80,000 USD prize purse.

Water resources managers rely on ground-based precipitation measurements to monitor basin conditions and support streamflow, water supply, and flood forecasts. These forecasts, in turn, inform water management decisions ranging from water allocation to flood control to environmental restoration. Despite the critical importance of precipitation gauges for water resources management, current precipitation gauges are subject to several challenges and limitations related to operation and maintenance (O&M) requirements and data accuracy and reliability. The Counting Every Drop Challenge, seeks for new or improved designs for ground-based precipitation measurement devices to address measurement limitations of existing precipitation gauges, including measurement accuracy, resolution, and stability, and to address operations and maintenance (O&M) challenges of existing precipitation gauges.