Virginia Students Build Water Towers for Cash Prizes

Middle school students in Virginia are about to get paid for building the coolest water towers they can dream up, and the only limit is their imagination.

The fourth annual Water Tower Showdown invites students in grades 6 through 8 to design and construct model water towers that are structurally sound, efficient, and wildly creative. Set for July 17, 2026, at the Smith Mountain Lake Water Treatment Facility in Moneta, the competition is open to kids from Bedford, Lynchburg, Roanoke, and Salem.

Participants can work solo or in teams of up to four students. First place winners take home $75 Visa gift cards each, second place earns $50, and third place receives $25.

The best part? There are no rules about materials. Students can use anything from repurposed broom handles to recycled cardboard, and judges award bonus points for creativity and innovation.

The competition is completely free to enter. Registration is open until July 2, with space limited to the first 30 individuals or teams and a maximum of five teams per school.

"The Water Tower Showdown is a great example of utilities breaking down barriers with the public and trying to make education fun and engaging," said Mark Titcomb, a judge for VA AWWA who has evaluated entries for multiple years. The event is jointly hosted by the Virginia Section of the American Water Works Association, Bedford Regional Water Authority, Lynchburg Water Resources, Salem Water Department, and Western Virginia Water Authority.

The Ripple Effect

The competition does more than reward clever engineering. It pulls back the curtain on water infrastructure that most people never think about, helping young minds understand the systems that deliver clean water to their homes every day.

By making STEM education hands-on and rewarding, the Water Tower Showdown plants seeds for future engineers and problem solvers. Students learn that infrastructure can be both functional and beautiful, and that creative thinking matters just as much as technical skills.

The event welcomes students from public schools, private schools, and homeschool settings. Competition day runs from 9:30 a.m. to noon, giving teams just hours to prove their towers can hold water while standing tall.

Four Virginia water authorities are betting that the future of infrastructure starts with middle schoolers getting their hands dirty and their minds racing.