“Water against
water”
A unique concept of flood protection
levees Tiger DamTM now helps
in the Czech Republic
www.wateragainstwater.com
the exclusive distributor for Central Europe
www.wateragainstwater.com
TIGER DAMTM
Tiger dams in the Czech Republic
2
On January, 1st, 2011 JOHNNY SERVIS
became the exclusive distributor of the
Canadian emergency levee system
Tiger Dam for Central Europe. These flood
protection levees are a remarkable means of
protection against flood water and have been
used all over the world since 1990.
The Tiger Dam system was developed by
the Canada-based company International
Flood Control as a reaction to the ever-growing
demand for an innovative and feasible alternative to sandbags. This gave the origin to
a unique system of easy-to-connect water-filled
polyester tubes that are easy to place and apply in various situations as a protective barrier
against flood water. The crucial point of every
flood control plan is the possibility of controlling and diverting flood water to areas where
it can not cause too much damage. A swift
and flexible response is inevitable in times of
natural disasters.
Deploying the emergency flood control is
not demanding in terms of time nor work. Each
part may be deployed by one or two persons
and does not require any heavy equipment. This
substantially reduces time that volunteers have
to spend in the front line, often life-threatened.
Lifting hundreds of heavy sandbags and possible injuries during handling them are avoided.
Moreover, the levee can withstand water level
almost equal to its height. The Tiger Dam system
is also environment-friendly, leaves no marks
after deployment and may even be inflated with
the flood water. It was designed for stability
and flexible in various situations and weather
conditions. The original intended use was floe
retention, therefore it can easily withstand also
freezing temperatures.
The goal of JOHNNY SERVIS is to provide
emergency flood protection service and distribution and sales of the product. Perspectively, the
company also plans renting the flood control
barriers as an effective flood protection means.
Thanks to applying the principle “water against
water”, it is no longer necessary to build sandbag dams. Flood control tubes may therefore be
a great help for all rescue units as they may be
deployed on all types of ground, in unlimited
lengths and heights, and they may be shaped
according to the landscape. Adopting the system and its consequential integration into the existing flood protection may significantly improve
the effectiveness of the work of the rescue units
and thus minimize casualties as well as damage
on private, public corporate property.
Tiger Dam – the strength
and endurance of a tiger
Although the beaver, one of the Canadian national symbols, known for building its
famous dams might seem to be the first choice
for the unique flood protection system authors,
the final decision was the tiger. The reason
was the animal’s mighty build and great
strength, as well as flexibility, endurance and
dexterity of a hunter. These are the very qualities that the Canadian manufacturer expects
from its new system, Tiger Dam, which can be
an effective means in fighting floods as well
as environmental accidents or droughts.
Tiger Dam – the strength
and endurance of a tiger
The concept of the Tiger Dam
system is a mobile levee built of
vinyl-coated tubes of 48-centimeter
diameter stacked in a triangular
manner. The tubes may be filled
either using the flood water or using
local hydrants or other water sources.
The height of the dam may be adjusted
as needed between 45 centimeters up to
o
2 meters, with the length ranging from
15 meters up to several kilometers.
The weight of one tube is 27 kilograms when empty; the tube may be
filled within 90 seconds. When filled
with water, one tube weighs about
three tons.
The stability of the system is provided
d
by its weight. The flood barriers Tiger Dam may
be deployed upon any surface and shaped as
needed. The tubes are tied together by polyes
ester
s straps and anchored to the ground
by anchor screws to withstand the
horizontal pressure of water.
As shown in the image below, it is
possible to weave a poly through the
dam to prevent ground seepage.
Once the flood has recessed, simply
empty
p the tubes, roll them up and store them
in a suitable place where they are ready
in
ffor next deployment. The life of the
system is, if maintained properly and
if the maximum UV level is taken in
consideration, 17 years. The product’s
life span may even be extended if not
excessively exposed to direct sunlight.
The flood control tubes are also
easy-to-repair. Temporarily, they may be repaired using adhesive tape, permanent repairs
are done using adhesive patches.
ger Dam
A generalized cross-section of the Tiger
er
system with respect to the flood water
Our patented vapor barrier will help minimize ground seepage and keep the flood waters away from valuable assets.
Flood
Water
Ground Poly Sheet
Ground Sheet Weights
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Tiger Dam system
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TIGER DAMTM
Technical specification
Tubes
The tubes of 48-centimeter diameter are 15.2
meters long, made from
fiberglass reinforced PVC plastic, welded along
their full length and at their ends. Two plastic
fittings are installed in the tube wall – a black fill
fitting and a yellow vent and drain fitting. The standard weight of empty tubes is circa 27 kilograms.
When filled with water, the tube will be slightly
heavier than the water itself.
Sleeves
special anchoring screws made from various materials to suit various types of ground to which the
levees might be anchored. The connection of the
tubes with the anchors is realized by steel cables.
Fill and Drain Set
JOHNNY SERVIS also provides a complete
fill and drain set for the Tiger Dam system. It
consists of a gas pump, a ball valve for hydrants, fill and drain hoses, a strainer basket,
an adapter and a CAMLOCK adapter. All components are optional and are sold individually
according to the customer’s wish.
To interconnect the
tubes, 1.8 meter long
sleeves open at both ends
are used.
d They
h are made from the same material
and have the same diameter as the tubes. In these
sleeves the drained, dried and rolled up tubes are
stored, which further simplifies the handling.
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Filling and Draining Hoses
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When filling Tiger
Dams from a hydrant,
standard fire hoses, attached to the fill valve
through
h
h an adapter
d
and a ball valve. Filling the
tubes from other sources requires using a pump
and a suction hose (the green hose in the picture on the right) with a strainer basket.
Polyethylene sheet
Weaving the polyethylene sheet through the
barrier helps prevent ground seepage. Even
without it, the barrier provides an effective flood
protection.
Tie Straps
To fasten the dam,
5-centimeter wide nylon
webbing straps are used
to tie the tubes together.
Anchors and Chocks
Plastic chocks are used
to provide the maximum
stability of the flood protection levee, especially if the
ground is sloped. They are
also helpful when building multi-layered levees,
when they prevent the dam from sliding during
filling with water. Another part of the system are
Product Testing
The research and development of the system
was done by the Interlok Testing Services company in their Ocean Engineering Test Centre at
the University of British Columbia, Canada.
According to the test results, the system
exceeded the required parameters and gave
a great performance in various situations.
During the testing, the TIGER DAM system
worked flawlessly and never failed.
„ The system underwent a wave test staying
entirely stable.
„ The system was also subjected to a burst pres-
„
„
„
„
sure test, withstanding the internal pressure of
1.2 kg/m2. At normal conditions, the system
works at 0.14kg/m2.
The system succeeded also in a puncture test
complying with or exceeding all ISO standards.
The system is made of heavy gauge vinyl
properly coated with polyester. This material
demonstrates high resistance to a number of
chemicals and UV radiation.
The system uses 5-centimeter check valves
with a bayonet joint.
The tie straps are 5 centimeters wide and
made from heavy duty polyester of the tensile
strength of 4.5 tons.
Sandbag dam versus Tiger Dam
Comparing the flood control barriers Tiger Dam to sandbags
when building 150 meters of flood protection dam.
Height
0.45 m
0.85 m
1.25 m
Number of Tiger Dam tubes
10
30
60
Time necessary for one person
4h
8h
12 h
Number of sandbags (20 kg per bag)
5 000
9 500
14 000
Time necessary for one person
140 h
265 h
390 h
Advantages of Tiger Dam compared to sandbags
replace 500 sandbags at comparable purchase cost.
„ Filling one tube takes circa 90 seconds using
hydrant and 3 minutes using a standard pump.
„ Building a flood protection barrier using Tiger
Dam is at least 30 times faster than using sandbags with a smaller working capacity demand.
„ The Tiger Dam flood protection barriers are
resistant to chemicals and UV radiation and
easy-to-store.
„ Tiger Dams are environment-friendly, reusable
and after use, there are no extra contaminated
waste disposal costs.
„ The Tiger Dam tubes are easy to clean and
„ Tiger Dams, unlike sandbags, do not pose any
risk of injuries.
„ Tiger Dams do not pollute water courses and
do not burden dumps.
„ Tiger Dams have manifold uses – flood pro-
tection, environmental accident/chemicals
leakage response, water retention system for
irrigation, potable water storage, contaminated
ground or fire extinguishing water storage and
disposal, well protection.
„ Permanent concrete solution – filled with con-
crete, Tiger Dams form a firm flood protection
dam.
„ Easy transportation, one empty tube may be
folded into a package of 25x50 centimeters.
maintain.
Variants of a flood protection
dam using 100 Tiger Dam tubes:
„ Dam length 1 500 m
Protective height 0.45 m
„ Dam length 500 m
Protective height 0.85 m
„ Dam length 240 m
Protective height 1.25 m
The vast majority of flood damage is caused by
water up to 1 meter. The Tiger Dam system can,
if necessary, provide protection against higher
levels. The picture shows a dam 1.65 meter high.
„ Dam length 150 m
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„ One 15-meter long and 45-centimeter high can
Protective height 1.65 m
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TIGER DAMTM
Ways of application
In case of hazardous organic materials,
sewage or liquid chemicals leakage, the products of International Flood Control Corporation
are capable of preventing their further spread.
One 15-meter long tube, which weighs only
27 kilograms when empty, is ready to deploy
within 90 seconds. Immediately, it may be
filled with up to 2.7 tons of chemicals or other
liquid wastes. It is as simple as to pumping
the liquid, sand or debris into the tube using
a 5-centimeter pump. The tube then becomes
an air-tight container. The dangerous material
may then be pumped to a special truck from
the tube and dispose of it according to environmental legislation.
Private property protection
„ Prior to the expected flood onset, property
owners can quickly and effectively protect
their property by placing this flexible barrier
strategically around their house. This helps to
substantially eliminate flood damage.
Permanent flood
protection dams
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„ As an alternative to Tiger Dam, International
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Flood Control offers plastic tubes which
may be easily filled with concrete. By covering them with soil and planting with plants,
a permanent flood protection dam organically
fitting into the environment is created without
complicated construction preparations.
Technical buildings protection
„ The flood protection barriers may replace
sandbags and volunteer groups necessary to
build flood protection dams to protect technical buildings equipment in times of floods.
Sewage system protection
„ Many cities still use the combined sewage
system for sewage and rainwater. In times of
heavy rainfalls the system is not able to cope
with such a load and the sewage then flows
directly into the river without going through
any water treatment facility. A well built dam
is capable of retaining a large amount of liquid and thus decrease the volume of sewage
escaping to the river.
Potable water provision
„ Sometimes, floods may cause damage on
the water-supply system and consequently
stop potable water supplies for the households. Filled with potable water, the Tiger
Dam system may provide a temporary
potable water supply.
Irrigation systems
„ The Tiger Dam system may also be used to
transport or divert river water, similarly to
irrigation channels. The Tiger Dam system is
capable of connecting rivers with agricultural
areas and decrease significantly the costs of
building irrigation channels used only in times
of low rainfall.
Refineries
Chemical factories
„ The flood protection levees Tiger Dam may
„ Tiger Dams may prevent leaked chemicals from
also provide flood protection for refineries
and prevent the spread of leaked chemicals.
spreading being a much cheaper alternative to
various ground works and protective casings
that are generally used for these purposes.
Footbridges across rivers
„ The Tiger Dam system offers an inexpensive
and environment-friendly solutions when it is
necessary to divert a part of a river course
or just to repair a footbridge or bridge. The
entire project thus becomes much simpler.
„ The system of mobile flood protection barri-
ers may help in protecting golf courses and
other sport grounds by diverting the rivers or
other water bodies.
Road construction
„ Tiger Dams may be helpful also in road
construction. By diverting water it may be preventing from flowing to the construction site
which improves work safety as well as quick
and effective project accomplishment.
Constructions
„ The Tiger Dam system may be used for any type
of repair or construction of roads or houses.
It is not only economical but also very easy
to use. Moreover, the tubes can be quickly and
easily rolled up.
Retention basins
– country areas
„ The system may be used to retain water dur-
ing thaw to use it e.g. for irrigation in times
of drought.
Bridge repairs
„ In case of big bridge repairs, this system can
provide for working place safety and allows
the work team to finish the necessary repairs
quickly.
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Golf courses and sport
grounds
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over the desired length in the place of the intended
dam. One 15-meter-long tube weighs 27 kilograms.
3 The tubes are filled one by one from the bottommost
layer. Before installing the next layer it is necessary to
make sure that the tubes are tied together by the straps.
2 An important part of the dam are the tying and joining straps
on which the tubes are placed. The spacing between the
straps is 1.5 meter. Then, filling the tubes with water may start.
4 The maximum dam stability is provided by special
chocks inserted under the tie straps. Once the first
layer of the dam is finished, the second layer is formed.
5 The most frequent height is 0.85 meter, for the height
6 Once the second layer is filled with water, the last tube,
7 The dam is finished. Six tubes are stacked on top of each
8 For increased stability the flood protection dam is anchored
of 1.25 meter it is necessary to place three tubes in the
ground layer.
other in a pyramid-like manner and tied together by the
straps, creating a very stable and water tight flood protection.
Building a 15-meter-long and 1.25 meter high dam takes circa
one hour’s time depending on the way of filling with water.
forming the top of the pyramid, is placed.
to the ground by means of anchoring screws. The image
shows anchoring the dam to concrete.
The exclusive distributor for Central Europe
JOHNNY SERVIS s.r.o., Tetín 1, 266 01 Beroun, Czech Republic
GSM: +420 602 309 454, +420 724 788 889, fax: +420 311 611 341
e-mail: [email protected], [email protected], www.johnnyservis.cz
ČSN EN ISO 9001:2009
ČSN EN ISO 14001:2005
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1 First, a sufficient number of empty tubes are stretched
TIGER DAMTM
Building a 1.25 m high dam