This Portable Rubber Dam Could Save Your Home From Floods
One in five people face flood risk. This cheap barrier could protect your home.
Flooding is getting worse. One in five people worldwide are at high risk, and by 2100, nearly 2 billion could be exposed. Many can't afford to evacuate or move. WaveSave, a small Dutch company, has a simple solution: a portable rubber dam called SlamDam. You unroll it along a riverbank, pump it full of water, and it swells into a barrier up to 1.3 meters high. It's quick to install, reusable for over 40 years, and costs between $1,140 and $3,400 per five-meter section.
Why should you care? If you live in a flood-prone area, this could protect your home, farm, or local hospital without the huge cost of permanent levees. It's already been used in Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia. In Burundi, farmers used the water stored inside the dam to irrigate crops during dry season, doubling their incomes. That's a big deal for communities that can't afford to rebuild after floods.
But there's a catch. The upfront cost is still too high for many poor communities, and it's not clear who should own and deploy the dam. WaveSave is working on making it more affordable by offering it as a service. They also plan to open local factories in Southeast Asia and East Africa by 2027 to cut costs. The company is tiny—just seven employees—but recently won $5.3 million in contracts. If successful, this low-tech tool could be a lifeline for millions facing rising seas.
- SlamDam is a portable rubber barrier that anyone can set up in hours to block floodwaters up to 1.3 meters high.
- It costs $1,140 to $3,400 per 5-meter section—cheaper than permanent levees, but still too pricey for many poor communities.
- In Burundi, farmers used stored water from the dam to grow more crops and doubled their incomes.
Why It Matters
A cheap, reusable barrier could protect homes and farms from floods, saving lives and money in vulnerable areas.