Filling the Flood Barrier with water is essential for its effectiveness. While it might seem challenging if there’s no natural water source nearby, here are some considerations:
- Flood Threat Assessment: Before worrying about water source proximity, it’s important to assess whether the location is prone to flooding and if the Flood Barrier is necessary. Most areas susceptible to flooding will likely have some form of water source nearby.
- Water Sources Within Reach: In practice, even if a natural water source like a stream, river, sea, or fire hydrant isn’t immediately adjacent, it’s highly probable that one is within a relatively short distance (1, 2, or 300 meters). Such proximity ensures that one can access water to fill the barrier.
- Single Access Point: One only needs to fill a 100-meter section of the barrier from one access point. Even if you’re extending the barrier to, for example, 800 meters, you can still fill it from the same access point. You benefit from Junction and Terminals where water can flow from one section to the other.
- Dam up with a membrane. Deploy the barrier as normal. Fill with air. Deploy a membrane over the barrier and in front. The membrane will dam up water. You place pumps in front of the membrane/barrier and start filling the tubes.
- Efficient Filling: For larger barriers with multiple tubes (like the triple tube), you can begin by filling the lower two tubes. If additional protection height is required, you can then initiate the filling of the third tube.
In summary, while the barrier’s water-filling requirement might seem challenging at first, the practical availability of water sources near flood-prone areas usually ensures that you can effectively fill the barrier for optimal flood protection.