LIVERPOOL, UK - Flooding is a major problem around the world with lives being lost, costly property damage and economic losses especially as lack of building land means that flood plans are increasingly being built upon.

Unfortunately flood barrier systems are either primitive such as sandbags or sheeting or very expensive such as custom build barriers and usually require manual assembly when needed.  Aquastop Ltd has patented a low cost, flood barrier system called SAHAR that is easy to install in a variety of diverse terrains, can be easily stored when not in use, requires no planning permission and has no negative visual impact.

Developed in conjunction with the University of Liverpool, the Aquastop system consists of an inflatable barrier that is made from neoprene, which is used to construct rigid inflatable boats, and stored in a deflated state underground in a trench and covered with a hinged cover. When a flood warning is received, the barrier can be inflated in a few minutes by flicking a switch.  Once the flood waters have receded, the system can be deflated and easily stored again.

Modeling work by the University of Liverpool has found that such a barrier with support posts every two meters can withstand the pressures exerted by water travelling at 5 m/s.  A key feature of the design is that it can be fully automatic and even triggered remotely if required making it ideal for protecting vital installations such as electricity substations.

“The problem with almost all existing flood defense systems is that they rely on the building walls to keep out the water,” explained inventor William Irving.

“This can create problems if the system does not make a watertight seal with the building allowing water ingress, the pressure of the water is too much for the brickwork, or if the bricks and mortar become waterlogged let water through which can happen in a few hours.  You then have the problem of drying the building out afterwards which can take weeks and there is usually damage to plaster, etc.  Aquastop prevents all these problems by keeping flood waters at bay away from the actual property itself preventing structural damage.  A typical Aquastop installation would cost around £10,000, which is about a third of the typical claim for flood damage to a property, and have a life of well over 20 years.”

The company has completed the initial research phase on the invention with the assistance of the University of Liverpool’s id2m centre in the Department of Engineering.  “We think that this could be a really effective way to protect properties,” said Dr Matt Fulton, id2m centre manager at Liverpool University who worked on the concept.

“It is simple, reliable, easy to maintain and quick to deploy with minimal visual impact when not in use.  Aquastop’s solution could save insurance companies a huge amount of claims and could even be worth them subsidizing its installation for high risk properties.”

Aquastop is a privately held company and is now seeking investment funding to develop this innovative technology for commercial use around the world.