Teams from area high schools and colleges competed in the Ninth Annual H₂O Hackathon coding competition at the San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE) on Saturday, May 2, racing to design an app to help local communities better understand California’s water supply. In a second category, teams created engaging multimedia campaigns highlighting the importance of staying informed about the state’s ever-changing water situation.
In all, approximately 200 high school and college students and their coaches on 58 teams competed. Cash scholarships were awarded to nine winning teams. The Code Busters team from Ripon High School (Ripon Unified School District) was awarded the California Water Service Company (Cal Water) Golden Spigot Award and a $5,000 scholarship. Winners were selected by a panel of judges including water experts and coding professionals.
The H₂O Hackathon is a community-supported event that taps into the technological, creative, problem-solving, and presentation skills of local students to find solutions for the state’s water issues. The focus changes each year, with previous issues ranging from dam safety to flood response. No prior computer coding experience is necessary to compete.
This year’s theme was Hack the Supply. At approximately 8 a.m., students learned the day’s challenge, set by H₂O Hackathon partner Cal Water to apply to a real-world issue impacting San Joaquin County. Teams had until 2 p.m. to complete their projects. For the coding competition, the challenge was to use data from snowpack levels, precipitation, and reservoir storage to build an awareness app, predictive app, or any other app that helps a user better understand California’s past, present, and future water supply. For the multimedia competition, the challenge was to create a campaign highlighting how volatile California water supply can be and the importance of staying informed.
“Students taking part in the H₂O Hackathon are learning computer coding, collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, and other skills that will help prepare them for the jobs of today and tomorrow,” San Joaquin County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Troy Brown said. “Not only are students preparing themselves for their own futures, but they are also focusing their passion and innovation on their community.”
At the end of the day, finalists took the stage at the SJCOE Wentworth Education Center in Stockton to present their projects before learning who would win the California Water Service Company Golden Spigot Award.
“Cal Water has been a proud sponsor of the H₂O Hackathon for more than a decade, and we continue to be amazed by the creativity and curiosity of students in solving the water challenges we all face,” Cal Water Public Policy Program Manager Shannon McGovern said.
Competitors at the Ninth Annual H₂O Hackathon could sign up as a team or as individuals, who were grouped into teams that could include multiple schools. Teams competed in high school and college divisions in the coding competition. The multimedia competition was open to both age groups. The Cal Water Golden Spigot Award winner was selected from all competition winners. Top teams won cash scholarships.
High School:
First Place ($1,500) and Golden Spigot winner: The Code Busters, Ripon High School (Ripon Unified School District)
Second Place ($1,000): Flow State, Kimball High School (Tracy Unified School District)
Third Place ($500): Hydro Heuristics, Stockton Early College Academy (Stockton Unified School District)
College:
First Place ($1,500): Scallywags, Modesto Junior College
Second Place ($1,000): Electron 0, University of the Pacific
Third Place ($500): Team Slugs
Multimedia Competition:
First Place ($1,500): Code Diamonds, Mountain House High School (Lammersville Unified School District)
Second Place ($1,000): Team MaKrit, Stockton Early College Academy (Stockton Unified School District)
Third Place ($500): Hail Hydro, San Joaquin Delta College
The H₂O Hackathon is a community-supported event, has received financial support over the years from a broad range of partners, and was founded in 2015 by Restore the Delta, A.G. Spanos Companies, iHub San Joaquin, the San Joaquin Partnership, and Café Coop. Today, the event is organized by the SJCOE’s CodeStack department in partnership with A.G. Spanos Companies, iHub San Joaquin, the San Joaquin Partnership, Café Coop, San Joaquin Delta College, Stockton Unified School District, and California Water Service.
