Turning the Tide

Tiger Dams™ and the Future of Oil Containment

Think of flooding—and your first thoughts are likely to be of ruined houses, streets, and sandbags desperately being piled up by exhausted volunteers. These images have been common in recent years, with hurricanes and other weather disasters giving news networks endless opportunities to beam them directly to our televisions. Within a few short years, however, the TV coverage of sandbags may be replaced with images of a new product: The Tiger Dam™, produced by “U.S. Flood Control Corp.”

What is a Tiger Dam™? Essentially, a Tiger Dam™ is a long, flexible tube made of heavy duty blended PVC coated polyester / nylon depending on the application. The tubes can be quickly filled with water, to form a barrier against flooding. The tubes are also equipped with two valves, one to fill the tube and a second that acts as an air vent. The Tiger Dams™ require no heavy equipment to set up, and can be properly deployed in as little as ninety seconds (if connected to a fire hydrant). Tiger Dams™ can even be filled with the very flood water that they are protecting an area from—by turning the water against itself to contain the threat of flooding. This concept of using water against itself was one that formed the genesis of the product. The Tiger Dams have already been used by a host of different governments and companies, with some notable examples being the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, BP, Conoco Phillips, Cameco, New York Stock Exchange as well as Wal-Mart, Costco, and many Fortune 500 companies.

Tiger Dams were initially designed to address the problem of flooding while avoiding all of the disadvantages associated with using sandbags. Developed over ten years with input from emergency personnel, first responders, public works departments, and other key stakeholders, the Tiger Dams™ are likely to replace the traditional use of sandbags for a variety of reasons, such as the following:

Customizable shapes and length: Individual tubes can be connected together to cover large areas and tacked on top of one another in a pyramid shape to protect against higher water levels. Tiger Dams™ can be shifted into any shape, even at ninety degree angles, to surround and protect an area from 100 percent of the surrounding floodwaters.

Height Capacity: The Tiger Dams™ can be stacked up on top of each other up to a maximum height of 32 feet of floodwater.

No environmental footprint: Once the danger of a flood has passed, the Tiger Dams™ can quickly be drained. The dams leave no impact on the environment. Unlike traditional sandbags, the Tiger Dams are also reusable for up to seventeen years.

Ease of transport and lack of maintenance: When not inflated, the standard Tiger Dam™ weigh only 65 pounds and can be rolled up into a small package for easy storage and transport. The Tiger Dams™ also require minimal maintenance and can be easily repaired with tools such as a vinyl repair kit, or even duct tape as a short-term, temporary fix in an emergency. U.S. Flood Control Corp., also produces Standard Emergency Response Trailers, or S.E.R.T.S., to give clients an easy way to store and transport Tiger Dams™ and any associated materials.

Different Configurations: In addition to standard Tiger Dams™, other configurations are available for different needs. For example, Super Tiger Dams™ are larger-sized tubes than standard Tiger Dams™. Tiger Dams™ can be customized for any shape, with multiple chemical resistances depending on the particular HAZMAT requirements. Concrete Tiger Dams ™can be filled with concrete instead of water, for a longer-term flood protection solution.

Tiger Dams™ can be used to protect against more then just flooding. This protective capacity means that the Tiger Dams can be used for a variety of purposes: protecting a crew repairing a bridge, storing clean drinking water safely, diverting water from one area to another like an irrigation channel, or simply protecting a critical area. For example, the dams can be used to contain water storage for fracking or protect against chemical spills, oil spills, or shield a coastline against excessive ocean erosion. The Tiger Dams™ have a huge potential as a flexible, low-cost, and environmentally sensitive way to protect a company’s infrastructure. This means that pro-actively storing the Tiger Dams™ are an option that oil and gas companies should contemplate; especially, considering the advantages the dams possess over sandbags. All of these advantages mean that professionals in the oil and gas sector should give the innovative, environmentally friendly Tiger Dams™ a look to see how they can be an effective solution for emergency response scenarios. With time, perhaps, we will all start to see fewer sandbags on our TV screens, and in their place will be Tiger Dams™.