The Holland Marsh was chosen for the competition because the area experiences cold temperatures and warm climates.
With the electrical power of just 10 lightbulbs, thousands of gallons of water could be purified.
That is part of a new technology Econse Water Purification System is designing in a competition against eight other teams from around the world for the $10-million George Barley Water Prize — the research for which is based out of the Holland Marsh.
The teams wrapped up Stage 3 in Bradford West Gwillimbury on Thursday after 90 days of work with the ultimate goal to reduce water’s phosphorus levels that pollute nutrients and create green algae and duckweed.
“Basically, we like to solve difficult problems,” said Neil Sosebee of Toronto-based Econse, which is one of two Canadian companies in the competition. “These are worldwide problems. Our goal is to help communities grow sustainably.”