Floodstop doubles as road barrier

Importantly, Floodstop is affordable for homeowners while its multiple uses mean that costs can be shared between corporate or government entities and departments. When not in use as a flood barrier the system can serve for road traffic delineation, fluids containment or as a spill barrier.
Australia’s Flooding Solutions Advisory Group has been appointed national distributor of the system which last year was named the Most Innovative Product of the Year by Britain's Emergency Planning Society.
In Britain Floodstop systems have been purchased by councils, emergency action groups and The Environment Agency. It comprises a series of interconnecting pods available in either 0.5m or 0.9m heights. Filled automatically by rising floodwaters, the weight of the water filled pods compresses a unique foam gasket base to create a seal with the ground. When floodwaters recede the pods empty automatically.
The 0.5m high pods weigh just 12kg for easy deployment by one person while the larger 0.9m high pods weigh 22kg for a two person deployment. Case studies in the UK have shown that two people can deploy 180m of Floodstop in just 90 minutes.
According to FSAG director Keith Jackson, it means an end to the ubiquitous sandbag. “It takes 50 sand bags to provide a 0.6m high barrier of 1m in length,” Jackson said. “When you consider the cost of non-reusable bags and sand, plus the time involved in delivering, filling and placing sand bags, the reusable Floodstop pod system is a much smarter solution.”
He said that his barriers cost about $400 to $700 per metre depending on height. “Other temporary barriers are re-usable and are instantly deployable with a minimum of labour. However most are designed into specific protection areas such as driveways and often require civil works to fit. Floodstop doesn’t need to be bolted to the ground and the units are simply connected using slide-in keys.
Floodstop also offers the one thing that sandbags are known for: portability. It is this mobility that makes them equally proficient in protecting private property as they are in a civil defence system. And it is the only system that has alternative uses outside of flooding emergencies.
“Because of the speed of deployment, it is effective for flash, coastal, pluvial and fluvial flooding, water/fluid containment, fluid spills (oil, tanker spills on road networks) and even for use by fire services as a cylinder cooling bund.
More information: Keith Jackson keith@floodingsolutions.com.au, 0411-333-971, www.fluvial-innovations.co.uk