SEO Riders:
- – Young Germans win SJWP for real-time flood alerts in small streams
- – Innovative sensor app bridges data gaps in flash flood early warning
- – Youth-led flood resilience technology now expanding regionally with partners
At the 2025 Stockholm Junior Water Prize, German students Niklas Ruf and Jana Spiller were honored for developing a scalable flood warning system tailored to small streams—an innovation addressing a Widespread data blind spot in flood-prone rural areas. Their system, featuring a network of sensors linked to a mobile app that broadcasts real-time alerts to both experts and the public, was launched at Stockholm City Hall by H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden during World Water Week
Over four years of dedicated work, the duo built and tested their system locally and have already begun working with regional partners to scale it across their region. The jury applauded their project for tackling the critical and escalating challenge of flood response where live data is scarce, especially on smaller waterways.
Reflecting on the honor, Ruf remarked, “I didn’t expect it at all… there were so many really good projects.” Spiller added, “Some were in areas like chemistry and biology that I didn’t fully understand… they were so impressive.” When asked about their hopes moving forward, they noted that their creation aims to help communities adapt to climate change, though ideally, the ideal solution would be no climate change at all.
