The IAHR Industry Innovation Award is conferred by IAHR on a recent local innovation in design of lasting and international importance. It has the purpose of giving international professional recognition to the work of local hydro-environment engineers.

The Local Organising Committee (LOC) of each IAHR World Congress is invited to submit a proposal for the award to the Council meeting one year before the congress for approval. If no proposal is submitted by the LOC, the Council may wish to consider submissions from other parts of the world. In approving a proposal for the award, the Council takes into consideration the innovative nature of the design, significance for the international IAHR community, and a clear interest from the proposed recipient for the award.

5th IAHR Industry Innovation Award | 2023
Viadonau, Austria
Viadonau, the Federal Waterway Administration in Austria, is charged with the task of ensuring the sustainable development of the Danube waterway. Viadonau is very innovative in waterway planning and management. This includes courageous types of hydraulic engineering measures in a large navigable river such as bank restoration, side arm reconnection, innovative groin restructuring and reshaping, bedload management, being a best practise example for other waterways. Viadonau is cooperating with universities intensively to constantly improve the navigability, ecosystem, and flood risk management.
>> Viadonau website

4th IAHR Industry Innovation Award | 2022
EMASAGRA, Spain  
Emasagra is an organisation that integrates sustainability with strategy. Its commitment to social, environmental, and good governance issues, built upon local alliances, has led it to be considered as a benchmark in its sector. Within the development and implementation of its global strategic plan, the focus has been placed on Circular Economy and Decarbonisation. The “Biofactoría Sur Granada” (former EDAR Sur) is the circular economy model which has the greatest impact. This model has been consolidated after gaining worldwide recognition by receiving the Momentum for Change award from the United Nations.
>> Emasagra website

3rd IAHR Industry Innovation Award | 2019
City of Knowledge, Panama  
Panama's Ciudad del Saber (City of Knowledge) is a government-sponsored cluster of academic organizations, technology companies and non-governmental organisations. The City of Knowledge promotes social change through various education, research, technological development and innovation programmes.  
>> Ciudad del Saber website

2nd IAHR Industry Innovation Award | 2017
Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART tunnel), Malaysia  
The Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART tunnel) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is a tunnel that doubles up as roadway for vehicles and a channel to get rid of storm water. The SMART project has been a great challenge for the local engineers involved in management and construction as it runs below congested roads, near sensitive structures, and through varied geological ground conditions. The resulting 9.7km tunnel has 2 functions: to reduce flash flooding in Kuala Lumpur, and to cut traffic jams at rush hour between Kuala Lumpur City Center and Southern gateway at Sungai Besi.
>> Introductory article (HydroLink 2016-2)

1st IAHR Industry Innovation Award | 2015
Open-Sourced Delft3D, Netherlands
Delft3D is a world leading 3D modeling suite to investigate hydrodynamics, sediment transport and morphology, and water quality for fluvial, estuarine and coastal environments.
>> Delft 3D website