WASHINGTON, DC (March 16, 2021) – Century Engineering, Inc., of Hunt Valley, Md., has earned a National Recognition Award for exemplary engineering achievement in the American Council of Engineering Companies’ (ACEC) 54th annual Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) for designing a new tool to improve the performance of stormwater management facilities.
Called SmartSWM, the technology leverages the power of real-time hyper-local weather forecast data, stormwater management system data, cellular communication systems, and WiFi to autonomously manage stormwater runoff from upstream areas. By monitoring rainfall and water levels in reservoirs and other facilities during a storm event, SmartSWM can automatically adjust a discharge valve to precisely control the release of collected stormwater into the watershed. This level of control significantly minimizes the potential of downstream flooding and stream erosion.
SmartSWM also offsets releases from other parts of the watershed, minimizing the potential of overwhelming stormwater systems and the resulting release of untreated sewage into the environment. Now in use across Maryland, SmartSWM is also proving to be a valuable educational tool. Several schools use the technology’s web application to facilitate classroom learning opportunities around the role of stormwater management systems in balancing the built and natural environments.
The project is eligible for additional honors as part of 173 entries this year representing engineering excellence from throughout the nation and the world. Judging for the awards program—known industry-wide as the “Academy Awards of the engineering industry”– took place in February and was conducted by a national 20-member panel of built-environment leaders, along with experts from government, media, and academia. Award criteria focused on uniqueness and originality, technical innovation, social and economic value, and generating excitement for the engineering profession.
Recognition of all award winners including top winners—20 Honor Awards, 16 Grand Awards, and the prestigious “Grand Conceptor Award” for the year’s most outstanding overall engineering achievement—will take place during the 2021 Virtual EEA Gala, to be held Thursday, June 17, 2021.
