Monitoring the increasing number of pollutants in source waters is an ongoing concern for water treatment systems and water resource managers. Current methods for detecting and identifying many of these contaminants are expensive, time-consuming, and require the use of specialized laboratories. In addition, the numbers of sensors, instruments, tests, labs, personnel, and other costs can become an economic burden for water resource managers.
To help meet the need for better ways to monitor toxicity in water, EPA along with several partners launched the Water Toxicity Sensor Challenge. This ideation challenge called on innovators to propose a sensor design that would allow for the detection of chemical pollutants and/or natural toxins in water, based on the sensor’s ability to detect the activation of one or more cellular toxicity pathways. Winners of this challenge will outline their unique and novel approaches to addressing this need.