If you live in a flood-prone area, there are big chances that you are already an expert in anti-flooding measures. And, of course, you are no stranger to sandbagging.
Using sandbags to build dams that would stop, restrain and adjust the flow of floodwater is one of the most ancient and seemingly the easiest ways to protect your property. However, centuries have already passed since the first time people guessed to use sandbagging. We have learner to build skyscrapers and rockets, invented and mastered digital technologies, and sent people on Moon, but sandbagging somehow remains the most common anti-flooding measure.
Let`s see why is it so and whether there are any alternatives to the good old sandbagging today?
People have always been using sandbags to protect their houses.
If something worked properly, you should never try to repair it. On the one hand, this principle often works perfectly, protecting people from costly mistakes. Sandbagging might be one of the examples.
People have been using sandbags for generations, and they seem to have always done the job. So why mess up a good concept? Sandbags are straightforward, cheap, and easy to use. Unlike all those advanced pontoons and flood barriers, they are so easy to install that even a child understands the principle and can build an effective sandbag dam.
But is it really so? Let`s go over the main advantages of sandbagging and see whether good old dams see don`t have any competition when it comes to protecting your house from flooding.
Sandbagging is cheap
Yes, a pre-filled bag of sand would cost you about $3-4. You may significantly minimize the cost if you reduce delivery fees by picking it up yourself. Moreover, you can just buy the bag itself and fill it up yourself. Because sand is free, isn`t it?
Now let`s do some basic math. You'll need at least 6 sandbags to keep out 20cm depth of water for a standard door opening. Multiply this sum of money by the number of passages in your property and the expected water rise. That will be the approximate cost of sandbagging for you.
Another thing to remember is that a sandbag contains about 15kg (33 lbs) of sand. Naturally, building a sandbag dam is not a one-person job. Moreover, it is a job that will take some time and may force you to take some time off afterward due to exhaustion, muscle pain, or even trauma. This time is the additional money that you lose spending on the construction.
This is generally the reason why more and more governments worldwide consider sandbagging politically tricky today. It may be efficient but requires so much budget, money, time, and effort that voters naturally start asking questions about where their tax money goes and whether there is a more efficient and modern way to protect them from floodings.
However, innovative machines make filling and collecting sand for sandbagging more efficient, but it is still pretty far from being cheap.
And the last but not least economic argument - sand-bagging is the one-time solution. It means that after water retreats, you will also have to spend more time, money, and effort on disassembling the dam that you cannot use once again when the flood returns next season.
Sandbagging is the easiest.
Seems pretty fair as what san be easier than building a dam out of sandbags. But let`s take a closer look.
As we have already mentioned, each bag would contain about 30lbs (15Kg) of sand, which is already pretty far from something "easy to use". Moreover, to protect your house from flooding, you cannot just through sandbags chaotically and hope for the best.
There is a certain pattern for a sandbagging dam that makes sure that there won`t be any leakage in the construction. Technically, the process looks like building a pyramid out of sandbags as the construction should be thicker and wider at the bottom.
Experts also insist on covering layers with thick nylon to enhance the defense qualities of your sandbagging dam.
Moreover, you should consider your property`s landscape, all the curves, and possible weak points where it may be hard to squeeze a sandbag, but it can become a welcoming gate for floodwater into your house.
And of course, you will have to disassemble and remove your dam somehow, clean all the mess and utilize the bags. Whether we are talking about a private household, a business, or a municipal unit, sandbagging appears to be a time, money, and effort-consuming solution that is pretty far from being simple.
Sandbagging is eco-friendly
It is another common argument for using sandbags. However, this matter is pretty questionable. Yes, sand is an all-natural and sustainable resource. But to withhold so much sand and remain efficient against water pressure, sandbags are made of thick, robust materials.
Sometimes those are all-natural materials, sometimes they contain synthetic enforcements, and sometimes they are entirely petroleum-derived synthetics. Their manufacture and transportation are pretty far from being eco-friendly. However, you might say that they are definitely greener than flood barriers.
But lat`s look at the perspective. After the flooding event, most of those sandbags will end up in landfills. Even if they were made out of all-natural and biodegradable fibers, it would take them years to dissolve, and their particles will get into soil and ground waters. And people would need new sandbags all the time for each new flood producing more and more waste afterward.
At the same time, flood barriers are something you will use for many years. Once produced and bough, a flood barrier will protect you and your family from floods, and after the water retreats, it will wait for its turn compactly stored in your garage or basement.
Sandbagging might be the oldest and proven method to protect your house in case of flooding, but it is far from being the easiest, cheapest, and most efficient. New solutions appear every day, making our lives safer and easier, helping us protect our houses and families with less effort and investment.
Contact us today and learn about our innovative flood barriers and other solutions that will help you withstand even an unexpected flash flood and keep your family and property safe for many years.
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