Stockholm Junior Water Prize Deadlines and Timeline

By Dr. Harman Brah, MD · Judge, California Science & Engineering Fair

In the 2026 cycle of the US Stockholm Junior Water Prize, state entries were due April 15, 2026, state winners did a virtual judging round in the first two weeks of May, the top 20 finalists met in Chicago June 8 to 10, and the US winner went on to Stockholm in August. The 2027 dates were not posted as of late October 2026, so the safest plan is to treat mid-April as the target and work backward from there.

Below is how the year fits together, and what a student can do now so spring is not a scramble.

The 2026 cycle, step by step

The competition runs at four levels. Here is how the 2026 dates fell.

1. Regional, in winter. Some local science fairs give regional awards. A regional winner still has to enter the paper online for state.
2. State, due April 15, 2026. Students filled in the online entry form for their state and uploaded the research paper.
3. State winners, first week of May. Each state picks one winning project, announced online. Winners get a US medal and an invitation to nationals.
4. National virtual round, first two weeks of May 2026. Every state winner was judged online.
5. National finals, June 8 to 10, 2026, Chicago. The top 20 finalists competed in person.
6. International, August. The US winner competes at World Water Week in Stockholm.

What we know about 2027

The Water Environment Federation (WEF), which runs the US competition with its state Member Associations, had not posted 2027 dates as of late October 2026. In California, the state Member Association is the California Water Environment Association (CWEA).

Until the dates are out, plan as if the state paper is due in mid-April again. Check wef.org in the new year, and move the plan if the date changes.

Who the timeline applies to

Students in grades 9 to 12 at a public, private or independent high school, or home school, can enter if they will be 15 by August 1 of the competition year. They must live in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia or Puerto Rico.

Students can enter alone or as a team of two. On a team, one member submits for both.

No science fair win is needed. Any eligible student can nominate themselves for their state competition, and with no fair to qualify through, this competition is easy to miss.

Planning backward from spring

The state deadline is the only date the student controls. Everything after it depends on the judges. So the work is front-loaded into fall and winter.

Spring: submit the paper. At state there are no specific paper guidelines, but the file cannot be larger than 2MB. We suggest writing to the national guidelines from the start anyway. The national round follows the state results within days, so there is no time to rebuild the paper in May.

Winter: finish the analysis and write. The national guidelines cap the paper at 20 pages, including figures, tables and annexes, with an abstract of no more than 180 words, written last. The Discussion is the section judges read most closely: how the results matter to the water problem, how new they are, how they compare with other work, and whether local agencies or local people could use them. A good Discussion takes more than one draft.

Fall: settle the question and start collecting data. Projects should aim to improve water quality, water resources management, or water and wastewater treatment, using accepted scientific methods and statistical analysis. Runoff, algae, stormwater, drought, sensors and computational water models can all fit if the data is real.

If the same project goes to a science fair

Some students enter one water project at a county fair and the SJWP paper. In that case the fair’s dates come first, and they come early.

In Santa Clara County, the Synopsys Championship’s final deadline for projects that need SRC/IRB pre-approval is November 13, 2026, and new participants apply by January 8, 2027. The Championship is March 4, 2027. Alameda County judges on March 13, 2027.

Projects with human participants, vertebrate animals or certain biological agents need review before the experiment starts. A water survey of residents, for example, has to be approved before the first response is collected. WEF also encourages SJWP students to use the ISEF Rules Wizard to follow safe handling processes.

Plan for the national round now

National judges weigh the paper and how well the student shows ownership and knowledge of the project in a video presentation. Under Practical Skills, they ask what help came from parents, teachers and professionals, and whether the student carried out the measurements.

That means the student has to know every choice in the project well enough to explain it on camera, in May, without a script. Practice explaining the work out loud in winter, not after the state results.

The student does the work

The student asks the question, runs the measurements, and writes the paper. The guidelines ask students to state in the acknowledgements how much outside help they had, and plagiarism can mean disqualification.

A mentor’s job is to help the student sharpen the question, check the statistics and push the Discussion further, on a schedule that gets a finished paper in before spring.

Our mentors guide students through research papers on this kind of timeline. See our research mentorship, or read the Synopsys Championship 2027 deadlines if the same project is headed to a Santa Clara County fair.

FAQ

When is the Stockholm Junior Water Prize deadline for 2027?

It has not been posted yet. In the 2026 cycle, state entries were due April 15, 2026. Plan for mid-April and confirm on wef.org once 2027 dates are out.

When are state winners announced?

State winners are announced online in the first week of May. Each state picks one winning project, and the winner is invited to nationals.

Where are the national finals held?

In 2026, the top 20 finalists competed in person June 8 to 10 in Chicago, after a virtual judging round for all state winners in early May. The 2027 location and dates were not posted as of late October 2026.

When should my child start a Stockholm Junior Water Prize project?

In the fall. The paper is due in spring, and a strong paper needs months of data, analysis and rewriting. If the project also goes to a county science fair or needs pre-approval, the fair’s deadlines come first, some as early as November.

Does my child need to enter a science fair first?

No. Any eligible student can nominate themselves for their state competition by submitting the paper online. Regional awards at local fairs are optional, and regional winners still have to enter online for state.