Everyone told Randy Wagner he was crazy when he bought 400 feet of rubber, wrapped it around his house and filled it with water. That’s because Wagner was trying to save his home from flooding in Rosharon, Texas, and hoped this Aqua Dam would help.
It sounds absolutely crazy, but it actually worked. Now Wagner’s home looks like its own private island in the middle of a flooded neighborhood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD6tdkyt0fU
Spending $8,300 on giant rubber tubing to save your home sounds insane. But that investment is well worth the time and effort when you’re talking about preventing the destruction of your home.
Here’s a breakdown of how cost-effective $8,300 really was for Wagner, thanks to Bird Plan:
THE FACTS: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates the cost of using and removing sandbags to be in the area of $3-$6 per bag. To achieve a 3-foot high barrier, they estimate that it would take approximately 34 sandbags per linear foot. At a conservative cost of $3 per sandbag, the price of a hypothetical 3 foot high by 100 foot long barrier would be $10,200.
THE DIFFERENCE: An aquadam the same size, in contrast, would cost $2,400 just to purchase, an immediate savings of over $7,500. On top of that, the aquadam can be installed easily in only 20 minutes using only 2 workmen, compared to 4 hours using 5 workmen for the sandbag wall. That’s a 200-minute difference, and 200 minutes is a long time when floodwater is filling up your home. In the long run, the savings are exponential. The aquadam is simply filled with on-site water, while the sandbags require that sand be imported. Then, after the event, the sand and bags must be removed and thrown into a landfill. Since the aquadam was purchased, it is simply drained and rolled up in anticipation of the next flood event.
