Reclamation launches $400K challenge to detect subsurface dam cracks

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has launched a global competition seeking new technologies to detect hidden cracks in embankment dams, a key risk factor in water infrastructure safety and resilience.

The challenge, called “Crack the Case,” is hosted on the crowdsourcing platform HeroX with support from the NASA Tournament Lab. The three-phase competition aims to develop novel techniques capable of identifying subsurface cracks that are often only millimeters wide and buried deep within earthen dams, making them difficult to detect with current monitoring tools.

“Detecting subsurface cracks before they become pathways for internal erosion is a persistent technical challenge in dam safety,” said Bureau of Reclamation Prize Competition Administrator Christine VanZomeren in a press release. “We're looking beyond conventional approaches and inviting fresh perspectives from geophysicists, sensing specialists, and problem-solvers from any field to help us find what current tools cannot.”

Participants are tasked with developing approaches that can detect and locate cracks within clayey or silty embankments while accounting for real-world constraints such as variable soil conditions and buried infrastructure.

The competition will award up to $400,000 in total prizes. Phase 1 opened March 5, 2026, with concept paper submissions due April 30, 2026, at 5 p.m. ET. Judging will take place from April 30 through June 26, with Phase 1 winners announced June 29 as the competition advances to the next stage of prototype development.

The Bureau of Reclamation operates more than 330 reservoirs across 17 western states, storing more than 140 million acre-feet of water and supporting agriculture, hydropower and flood protection. Many of those reservoirs rely on embankment dams, where undetected subsurface cracks can lead to internal erosion and potential failure if left unaddressed.