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When Floods Become Fun Again“Resilient Communities Respond”

Oregon Voluntary Organizations Active in DisastersBoring, Oregon

January 18, 2011

D. Leslie Miller, P.E.Flood Preparedness Program Manager

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Fighting Floods – “So what” Factor….

March 2008 Cape Girardeau, MO successful flood fight – raised levee height with sandbags

May 2001 Davenport, IA successful sandbagging flood fight of John O-Donnell Stadium

May 2002 Crystal City, MO successful sandbagging flood fight of Dairy Queen

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PERSPECTIVE!The following presentation compares the fun and excitement we have playing in a sandbox (or other favorite activity) with our friends…

To the exhilaration our community Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (VOADs) will experience as friends, protecting lives, homes, livelihoods, i.e. their communities from FLOOD’S DISTRUCTIVE AFFECTS…

Because we do it together as friends…

friends playing together is fun….

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Developing PerspectivePlaying in the sand with our friends built our imagination, friendships and character, while

having so much fun

Competing in sports and student government, restoring a jalopy, attaining Gold (GSA) or Eagle (BSA) Rank developed our imagination, friendships and character, making them so rewarding

Executing a flood fight that is well designed, planned and practiced before the next major flood occurs stimulates our imagination, friendships and character, making the commitment so revitalizing

Multi-organizational efforts to prevent repeat flood damage to our public facilities, infrastructure, local economy and homes utilizes our imaginations, establishes and strengthens friendships, and utilizes our character to overcome...yes…overcome challenges, making life exhilarating

Flood fighting is intended to reduce flood recovery’s horrible realities until permanent flood mitigation eliminates recovery… 90% of flood damage in the United States, is in less than 3 feet of water…you’re already visualizing what this means in your own jurisdiction…aren’t you….

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Response is BasicWhy

Where WhatWhenHow Who

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Basics –Flood Fight Design & Plan…better with VOADs….

• Why – Protect Our Friends (Homes, Jobs, Taxes, Community)

• Where - Specific location & access (Real Estate agreements)

• What - Coordinated Emergency Operations

• When – Site specific triggering • How - Collaborative design• Who – Friends who bring

resources and “own” their roles responsibilities

• A thorough plan will cover preparation, prevention, response and recovery (removal of the barrier not “mucking” out mud from homes and businesses)

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Why and Where Require Tough Decisions• Warn and Evacuate Only

– Flood Fight not economical– Insufficient time to place a barrier or channel

• Flood Fight Priorities– Highest life safety– Highest public benefit (government & non-government

organizations)– Highest economic impact (livelihoods & taxes)– Highest residential impact (homes, employees & culture)– Highest environmental impacts (hazardous materials, human detritus

and sensitive biomes of endangered species)– All priorities are contingent upon a realistic capability to execute

• Policy & Assumptions must be included for the overarching and site specific flood fight planning for neighborhoods, business/industrial districts, special districts (fire, levee, etc.); community, county and state infrastructure; private utilities – VOADs are a key to successful decisions!

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Why?Why a VOAD would “choose” to flood fight?

• “Personal” action driven by conscience, professional ethic or spiritual convictions

• “Essential” action to save life and sustain our community (public buildings, roads and utilities)

• “Right-good” action to protect neighbor (homes and neighborhoods; faith, service and cultural facilities)

• “Necessary” action to protect our livelihoods (businesses, industry, government)

• “Important” action to sustain our environment (health and quality of life – human and nature)

• “Sick and tired” of the damage, clean-up, impact to my life, livelihood and community…also, unmet recovery assistance expectations

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Where to design and plan a flood fight? • Where permanent flood mitigation takes years to

complete

• Where previous last minute “spontaneous” flood fight efforts did not meet expectations:– “Too late” Unsuccessful because the effort started

too late for the resources available– “Shooting from the hip” decisions and

management caused confusion resulting in ineffective use of resources

– “First come first serve” resource allocation prevented resources from reaching higher priority sites

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Where to design and plan a flood fight; even more reasons?

• Where flood science, history and anecdotal accounts combine to form a cost, time and resource effective:– flood fight design and plan (scope, schedule and resources)– preparedness program (updating, training, exercising,

stockpiling)– collaborative vision (benefits of damages prevented and alternate

uses of resources)

• Where the chance of successful flood damage reduction can increase from 10% to 80% by a rehearsed flood fight

• Where it provides the stimulus needed to enlist individuals, community, state, regional and national organizations to combine forces to rehearse a successful flood fight

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What must be included in the barrier’s/channel’s design?

• Location– Available footprint (length and width)– Foundation (paved, soil, rock)

• Height – Water depth plus 6 inches for no/meandering current– Water depth plus 1 foot for current

• Resources– Quantity and availability– Ingress and egress– Obtaining and Sustaining – Leakage management

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When is the flood fight triggered? Is this the same for VOADs?

• Available Time– River/reservoir forecast – current gage height, peak and rate of rise (NWS)– Time difference extrapolated to flood fight site

• Flood Fight Actions– Watch/Warning– Emergency Declaration process – local and outside augmentation– Flood fight site preparation– Mobilizing resources – supplies, equipment, people and support – Placement

• Factors– Weather– Night– Weekend/Holiday/Trail Blazer or Bowl Game – Plan rehearsed in last three years with all critical partners

• Time required = sum of Actions multiplied by Factors • Assumption: Adjusted for actual conditions when “Real Event”

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Can VOADs provide the following resources?

• People– Leadership– Management– Administration– Technical/Professional– Tradesman– Labors

• Supplies– Sand, Sandbags, Plastic– Earth and Rock– Lumber– New Technology

• Equipment– Communication– Office– Construction– Filling– Transportation

• Facilities– Management– Operations– Logistics– Medical– Care & Feeding

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Are these resources familiar with your VOAD?• Citizen Volunteers • Business & Industry

– Chamber of Commerce • Special Districts, City & County

Government– Levee & fire districts– Planning Departments– Public Works & Engineering– Port Authorities– Emergency Services– Schools

• Non governmental organizations– United Way– Faith based– Social & Youth

• State Government– Emergency Management– Public works– Safety, fire & health– Water Resources– Natural Resources

Mineral, flora & fauna – Military– Climatologist

• Federal Government– NOAA, NWS & USGS– DOD & BOR– NRCS, BLM, USFS &

USF&W– FEMA & USCG

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Who in your VOAD could be on a planning & response team?

• Collaborative Design & Planning = Collaborative Response & Recovery

• Everyone who is a player during the response and recovery must “own” the design and plan, especially their role and responsibilities

• Passionate retirees and volunteers can be the most under utilized resource when forming a “Flood Fight Design and Planning Team”

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How can the barrier/channel be built? • First design and plan a sandbag barrier/channel• Second design and plan a barrier with one or more of the

following tools:– Sandbag filling tools– Baskets– Geotechnical Grids– Impervious Fabrics– Water Filled Bladders– Water Weighted Floaters– Barricades– Agricultural Products and Containers

• Third include seepage management and the need for pumps

• Fourth rehearse roles and logistics – “Opening Night”

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Flood-Fighting Structures Demonstration and Evaluation Program

• US Army Corps of Engineers• Engineering Research and Development Center• Laboratory and Field Testing in Vicksburg,

Mississippi• ERDC TR-07-3 Report – July 2007• Evaluated 4 foot high level of protection:

– Sandbag Levee– Hesco Bastion Concertainer Levee– Rapid Deployment Flood Wall (RDFW)– Portadam Levee

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Sandbagging – Volunteers needed!• Most flexible and commonly used method• Standard for measuring other systems • Bags made of plastic, burlap and cotton• Standard size is 14”X26” - food/feed bags?• Filled one-half (30 lbs) to two-thirds (40 lbs) • Untied, tied, flap folded under or not • Three stage operation: fill, transport & place• Fill stage: receive, hold, fill and remove • Bags can be used to hold items in place• Corps test results:

– Labor intensive – 3 person team fills 2 bag per minute average over an hour or 120 bag per hour

– Results contingent upon number of well organized and trained people

– 10 ft. wide foot print (4’ high structure), 16 ft. wide with minimum work area

– Very stable on uneven and soft terrain – Low seepage especially with plastic membrane

covering barrier– Quick removal by equipment– Separation of bags from sand and disposal

contingent upon type of bag, contamination and reuse

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Typical Pyramid Sandbag Placement3 to 1 Base/Height Ratio

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Fargo North Dakota - 2009

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Fargo North Dakota - 2009

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Sandbagging 2009

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Super Sacks - One Ton Bag• Plastic fabric bag filled, transported and placed

by heavy equipment – water proof barrier held in place by sandbags recommended

• 1.4 yard bag replaces 215 sandbags• 3.5 ft. wide foot print (4’ high protection)

– 16’ wide using side casting equipment to fill, like a concrete mixing truck

– 26’ wide filling/placing with front end loader• Usually stable on uneven and soft terrain• Low seepage, recommend plastic cover to

further reduce seepage and prevent contamination of bag and sand

• Quickly installed, removed, emptied and stored; 95% reusable

• One yard bag – 3,500 lbs. sand– 34”X36”X38” high

• 1.4 yard bag– 5,000 lbs. sand– 40”X40”X48” high

• Open or duffle top• Closed or funnel bottom• Bags are a manufacturing waste product which

can be reused, but check weight rating• Water treatment trickling filter sand is frequently

delivered in these bags

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Folded Plastic Barrier – Filled with Sand

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CONTINUOUS SAND FILLED TUBES FOR TEMPORARY

FLOOD FIGHTING BARRIER

• Sand filled continuous fabric tube• Two people with heavy equipment

fill and place the equivalent of 120 sandbags per minute or 1 foot of protection for 1000 ft per hour

• Pyramid stacking like sandbags• Foot print:

– 4’ wide (4’ high structure)– 15’ wide for structure and

placement • Very stable on uneven and soft

terrain• Low seepage, plastic seepage

barrier recommended to reduce seepage and prevent contamination

• Quick and easy removal• Single use tube

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Hesco Baskets – Jamestown, ND - 2009

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Sandbags, Hesco Baskets & RDFWJamestown North Dakota - 2009

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Portadam - Portable Cofferdam Systems

• Steel structure with impervious liner• Structure and liner assemble in place by

trained crew– 9 ft wide foot print (4’ high structure)– 15 ft wide, for monitoring and seepage

management• Corps test results:

– Easy & quick to construct– Very low seepage, liner system is

flexible, sealing over most irregular contours

– Very stable except on soft terrain– Easy & quick to remove, clean and

repair– 100% reusable and repairable

• Folds flat to store on standard pallet or skid • Use for water diversion or impoundment• The equipment is offered as rental item in

heights of 3', 5', 7' and 10‘

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PortadamHydrostatic Loading Creates Seal to Stream Bed

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AquaFence• Anchored wall panel system• Trained crew unfolds and assembles

panels along pre-installed anchor line & subsurface seepage barrier

– 3.9’ wide foot print (3.9’ high structure)

– 8 ft wide foot print for monitoring, since assembled from wet side

– Rapidly deployed and removed– Nearly no seepage– Not recommended for sloping or

uneven or soft terrain– 100% reusable and repairable

• Panels fold flat and stored on 4’X7’ pallets

• First USA installation in Mt. Vernon, Washington; 2007

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Water Inflated Flood Barriers - Aqua Dam

• Aquadam® patented system• Uses any water source• Two polyethylene liners contained by a

single woven geo-tech outer tube • Two liners provide a non-rolling wall of water • A collar is used to join two or more sections

together • 1’- 7’ high tubes provide 100% protection for

back-water type sites• For flowing water and/or waves

recommended height of protection varies from 67% to 86% of filled height

• Rapidly deployed and removed• 15.5’ wide foot print (4.5’ high protection)• Very stable, even on soft soils• Rolls up compactly to store on pallets• 100% reusable and repairable

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Water Inflated Flood Barriers – FloodWalls™

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Water Filled Barriers – Tiger Dam Systems• Uses any water source• Flexible interlocking tubes• Single tube 19” diameter, 50’ long • Stack like a pyramid up to 20’ held together by

straps• Rapidly deployed: fills in 1.5 minutes from fire

hydrant or 3 minutes by pump• Assembly

– 3 tubes high: 5’ wide foot print (4’ high protection)

– 10 ft wide for monitoring and seepage management

– Added height by stacking and strapping another row of tubes to back of existing structure

• Nearly no seepage• Very stable, even on soft soils• Easily removed, cleaned, repaired and stored• Stores compactly - 50’ delivered in 55 gallon

drum• 100% reusable and repairable• Specialty tubes can be used for potable water

and others are designed to fill with concrete

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Water-Gate™ Self-inflating Barrier

• Rapidly deployed and removed• 30 - 50 ft long• ½ ft - 6 ½ ft high• 8 ft wide foot print (4’ high barrier)• Very stable except on porous soils • 100% reusable and repairable

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Jersey Barriers Mount Prospect, Illinois - 2007

• Rigid concrete barricade• Loading, transporting and placing

by heavy equipment• Sandbags and plastic required to

dramatically reduce seepage from underneath the barricades and thru their joints

– 6’ wide foot print includes 4’ wide seepage apron continuing over the barricade (2.5’ high barrier)

– 20’ wide for installation and seepage management

• Low to moderate seepage • Requires firm and even foundation

for maximum stability• Jersey Barrier is 100% reusable

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Muscle Wall Muscle Wall Flood Barricades Barricades

• Water filled rigid container• Molded plastic container interlocked on site by

manually lifting a container’s tongue end over the groove end of another container and sliding them together

– Empty container weighs 110 pounds– Reinforced plastic liner provides an

impervious water barrier (apron and wall)– Restrained by stakes and/or straps– Each container is 6 ft. long, 4 ft. high and 2.5

ft wide– Minimum foot print is 10’ wide to

accommodate a 4’ apron, barricade and 4’ monitoring and seepage management area

– Filled, the container weighs 1680 pounds– Designed for even and firm terrain– Very minor seepage on impervious surfaces– Easily and quickly disassembles, is cleaned,

repaired and stored on specialized pallets– 100% reusable

• Comes as individual containers or as a complete package including trailer

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• Muscle Wall - Testing• Murray Utah June 2010

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Expedient Levee Construction

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Researching – Flood Barriers using Agricultural Products

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PortadamPallet & Plastic Flood Fight Design Hydrostatic Loading

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Leakage Management – Sandbags & PumpsJamestown, ND - 2009

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Flood Fighting Data Base; could it expedite delivery of VOAD assistance?

• If the following information was rolled up in a State wide data base, starting in local jurisdictions and organized by water sheds, how quickly could each level of jurisdiction estimate the need for additional resources?

– River basin/body of water– River, creek, system causing flood threat– Jurisdiction (name, 24/7 contact information, street, GIS and electronic mail address of EOC/ECC)– Location of flood fight with GIS coordinates– What is damaged if not protected (facilities, buildings, infrastructure, economic/tax impacts)– Jurisdiction's priority: priority of total locations– Length, width and height of barrier/channel– Resources required - sandbagging: sandbags; sand; plastic; people (filling, moving, placing, supporting);

managing seepage. Assumes placement is on public right-of-way.– Time required - sandbagging: time estimate to successfully place barrier/channel for 100 year event crest

(activation, notification, mobilization of resources, placement, sustainment)– Resources required - Other (two alternatives designed)– Time required – Other– Agreements: Resources, access, legal, other– Access requirements: routes to flood fight location, public and private property, location of flood fight resources

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Summary• Know why – stay committed• Write it down – get everyone involved• Pick the right assistance – one(s) your

VOAD can rehearse for reliable success in most circumstances

• Make it fun – Fall Festival Anyone?– Include everyone in the plan, i.e. community– Play with your “right tools”– Celebrate together…cookies and milk anyone

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Corps Information - Web Sites

• http://www.metalithh2o.com/assets/pdfs/USACE_NonFed-Levee-Owners-Manual_Mar06.pdf

• http://chl.erdc.usace.army.mil/ffs

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Sandbagging Tools - Web Sites (In order of presentation)

• http://www.freedomsafetyproducts.com/• http://bagladyinc.net/Flood_Fighter.html• http://www.gobagger.com/

• http://www.bucketbagger.com/• http://bagladyinc.net/Sanding_Truck_Attachment.html

• http://bagladyinc.net/Megga_Bagger.html• http://www.thesandbagger.com/• http://www.onetonbag.com/• http://www.slingers.com

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Flood Fight Technology - Web Sites(In order of presentation)

• http://hesco-bastion.com/• http://www.geocellsystems.com/index.htm• http://www.portadam.com/index.html• http://www.aquafence.com/index.html• http://www.aquadam.com/index.htm• http://www.floodwalls.com/FloodWalls/index.htm• http://www.hydroresponse.com/wipp.htm• http://www.usfloodcontrol.com• http://www.hydroresponse.com/flood_barrier.htm• http://www.hydroresponse.com/watergate.htm• http://www.hydroresponse.com/floodgate.htm• http://www.musclewall.com

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Seepage Management Pumps

• http://www.wackerneuson.com/en-prod-utility.php

• http://www.waterpumpsdirect.com/TrunkPump-TP-4PTR/p4468.html

• http://crisafullipumps.com/• http://www.gator-pump.com/

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Where do “you choose” to go from here?For more information about flood fight design, planning and tools,

please have your state or county Emergency Management Office contact me and I will get you in contact with the Corps office serving your area:

D. Leslie Miller, P.E. Flood Preparedness Program ManagerReadiness Branch (CENWP-OD-E)Portland District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers333 SW 1st AvenuePortland, Oregon 97204-3495503-808-4400d.les.miller@usace.army.mil