Cordova High School InvenTeam
Problem Statement:
Clogged storm drain inlets cause flooding, disrupting residents’ daily lives. Unfiltered trash and chemicals flow through inlets, directly into the American River, harming wildlife and polluting the environment. With 13,000 inlets to monitor in Rancho Cordova, problems go unnoticed until workers inspect them in person. The California State Water Resources Control Board has also issued requirements to move the state toward having no trash greater than 5 millimeters enter waterways by 2030. The Cordova High InvenTeam plans to create a technological solution to prevent clogged storm drains, minimizing flooding and pollution, providing real-time alerts to the city, and helping meet California’s environmental goals.
About the 2025-2026 Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams:
The 2025-2026 Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams were selected by a panel of esteemed judges after several months of researching problems within their community that could be addressed with a technological solution. Teams will continue to learn more about the problems they selected in the first half of the grant year. Technological solutions will be prototyped, tested, and modified in the second half of the grant year. The technological solutions—inventions—will be showcased during EurekaFest in 2026. Team progress can be followed through Inside InvenTeams, a monthly newsletter.
