Flood Defense Group

Are you looking to purchase flood barriers in Iowa? Flood Defense Group is capable of supplying flood barriers for those entities capable of purchasing off the Iowa State contract as well as directly supplying individual homeowners who want to protect a house from flooding.

If you are thinking about the need for flood protection and want evaluate flood defense barrier options, give us a call or send an email. We can assist with anything from stackable, soil filled barriers like HESCO Bastion to a huge variety of reusable flood barriers. One of the easiest steps you can take when researching the best flood defense barriers on the market is to send us an email and ask for a pricelist!

Our flood barrier designs include:

• Stackable, soil filled flood barriers
• Reusable water filled flood tubes
• Reusable water filled ‘Jersey Barriers’
• Systems that are anchored by the weight of the flood water
•  Flood barrier systems that do not require fill material at all
• Inflatable flood barriers
• Flood barriers for doors & windows
• Flood barriers for garages and oversized openings
• Panels capable of enclosing power grids, AC units, or key infrastructure
• Long term flood defense barriers used for ‘flood defense landscaping’

Additional flood defense problems we can assist with

•  We have flood barrier designs that can be deployed in minutes
• We have lightweight flood barrier designs that can be deployed with minimal effort
• We have flood barriers that are easily stacked away with minimal storage requirements
• We have barriers capable of being built on poor surfaces
• Some of our barriers are easily modified to work in complicated areas or tight spaces
• We ae capable of helping you to choose a flood barrier system that is specific to your flood situation.

Support:

It is our support (and flood barrier prices) that keep customers recommending Flood Defense Group and we truly appreciate it. We understand that it can seem difficult to answer the question ‘what flood barrier is best for me?’ Different flood barriers have different strengths, and we can assist in identifying the flood barrier that is ideal for your situation which is sometimes done through excluding the flood barrier options that are not ideal for a given flood scenario.

Confidence:

It is important that our customers have confidence in their decision when it comes to the selection of a flood defense barrier. This creates peace of mind…… and peace of mind has value! Our customers want to believe in their flood barrier design, they want to purchase flood barriers at a reasonable price, and they want to trust who whey work with while sometimes being guided through the process of selecting the flood barrier that works best for them. We have proven designs, great flood barrier prices, and the biggest selection in choosing a product that fits you best. We are here to assist and well suited to do so!

Create a Plan

We believe in the expression ‘Those who fail to plan, plan to fail’.
Don’t get caught without a plan! Even if you are not prepared to purchase flood defense barriers now, you can still make a plan so when flood waters are coming, you have already done the work of figuring out what your options are, how much does it cost, and how fast can you get it.

Floodwaters do not wait for timing to be convenient. Be prepared, make a plan! Flood Defense Group remains available to assist with a flood defense plan.

Thank you, Iowa, for choosing Flood Defense Group. We have great pride to support The State of Iowa as well as individual residents when it comes to flood protection. We are flood defense professionals and truly enjoy helping those in need however we can.

Flood Defense Group
info@flooddefensegroup.com

Flood Defense Group wins a competitive bid for the supply and international shipping of over 3.5 miles of authentic HESCO Bastion or ‘HESCO Barriers’ to the US Department of State and we are extremely proud to support this requirement.

We have great respect for the work done by the US Department of State in areas all over the world to support local nations and advance US interests or reputation through an understanding of ‘the situation on the ground.’ This is often done in areas that are considered remote, undeveloped, and even hostile environments and without this group of professionals, the USA would be largely unaware of developing world dynamics, opportunities, or threats that can affect our citizens back home or while abroad.

Flood Defense Group can supply barriers that have a variety of uses in addition to flood. If you are looking to provide ‘force protection’ or ballistic protection from small arms fire or even vehicle borne explosive devices like ‘car-bombs’, we have a massive amount of experience in the design and supply of HESCO Bastion to protect company personnel and assets within rough terrain environments from a huge variety of threats encountered in today’s world.

If you have something to protect, let us know! From floods to bombs, we have a fantastic line-up in our toolbox and are free to provide feedback and pricing!

The majority of temporary flood barriers we are supplying into the area consist of the 4’ tall Muscle Wall product.  This is a water filled barrier commonly used to protect homes from flooding that we believe to be the best option on the market for a reusable barrier that is 4’ tall or higher.  Muscle Wall sizes range from 2’ to  8’ in height of flood protection and this product is completely reusable while offering robust protection against high winds, frigid temperatures, and wave impact.  We believe Muscle Wall to be the clear winner within the industry of flood defense products when a reusable flood barrier is required that needs to be taller than 3’, strong enough to take wave/debris impact, and comparatively inexpensive to other options on the market for an equal height of protection.

As of May 2020, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are about 3’ feet higher than average which is the highest lake level on record for these lakes. Lake levels are not expected to go down until around July and if weather patterns continue to bring in moisture, homeowners are bracing for the prospect of prolonged flooding. Added moisture or even wind driven surges of water are likely to plague the area well into 2020 leaving a continued threat of flooding or land loss due to erosion.

These conditions have created a variety of flooding problems throughout the Great Lakes Basin and Flood Defense Group is working throughout the region helping those looking to buy flood barriers in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and further ‘downstream’ into Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York to find a solution that works best for each scenario.

Mitigate Against a Rising Water Table Behind Your Barrier

Our specialty is providing removable flood barriers and we are well aware that anytime we are holding floodwater back above ground, the water is simultaneously trying to come out from below ground as well.

For example, if we are holding back 2’ of floodwater, the water table is now 2’ above the ground and the pressure of the water we are holding back is simultaneously trying to push the water through the ground under the flood barrier toward the ‘dry side’ of your barrier.

Now imagine your flood barrier is sitting on a base of soft sand while holding back 2’ of water.  In most cases, it would not work.  The water pressure against your barrier would pipe through the saturated sand under the barrier and well up on the ‘dry side’ causing a catastrophic failure.  Using sand as an example simply illustrates/exaggerates the point of water trying to work its way through underground.

Now imagine you have a 20’ wide sheet of plastic commonly found at any hardware store which you lay out over your 2’ tall flood barrier.  This will leave you about 16’ of excess plastic.  By pulling this excess plastic TOWARD the incoming floodwater on the ‘wet side’ of your barrier and securing it to the ground to make sure the water gets on to of the plastic first, you will now have a 16’ long impermeable layer before the floodwater even gets to your flood barrier.  In this example, the water would have to travel 16’ through the ground under the impermeable plastic layer and then under your flood barrier before it surfaces on the ‘dry side’.  This technique significantly lessens the ability of the floodwater we are holding back to travel under your barrier and get onto the dry side of your protective line.

If we are building on soft or porous surfaces like sand, this is the technique we use which is detailed at the video on the bottom right of the following web-page:
https://www.flooddefensegroup.com/our-products/noaq-boxwall/

NOTE:  Water can pipe through the ground over significant distances and in some cases where water is coming through the ground and into the stricture, plastic sheeting may not make a huge difference.  However, it is our experience that this technique makes a huge difference in preventing water from seeping under a removable flood barrier when working on soft and porous surfaces and therefore, could have broader protective capabilities.
NOTE:  This is an ‘ad-hoc’ solution in using plastic sheeting to mitigate against ground seepage specific to a flood barrier whereas concrete walls, steel sheet piles, and/or levee systems are common solutions for long term protection for critical infrastructure

Flood Defense Landscaping
In most cases, people dealing with flood problems would rather purchase, deploy, and store as few barriers as possible to get the job done.  However, if you require hundreds or thousands of feet of linear flood protection, it can be quite an expensive or a time-consuming task to deploy every time it looks like it may flood.  We completely understand this!

Depending on current water levels, it may not be too late to do some flood defense landscaping which can be used as long term flood defenses that tie into temporary/removable flood defense barriers as a greater part of a flood defense plan.  Whether it be a raised flower bed, a concrete wall, or a low profile berm of grass, this technique can save time and money for anybody bracing themselves for long term and repeat flood problems.

Flood Defense Landscaping can be done in a huge variety of ways and for our operations, we use the soil filled Defencell product.  This product is an effective flood barrier by itself but the long-term use capabilities, simplicity of use, and low expense create a great combination of factors within our flood defense solution line-up.  We enjoy the ability to stack this barrier to about any level in height or key it in for a low profile barrier and bury the entire structure to create a long-term reinforced berm that can be vegetated or landscaped as desired while providing protection against flooding even in the face of wave action, overtopping waves, or saturated conditions.  Once installed, it provides long term protection and you don’t know it’s there.

Stop shore erosion or beach erosion

• Erosion and floodwater can almost always be found together, and the record water levels of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are causing significant erosion. If you are researching how to stop beach erosion or how to stop eroding shorelines, the Defencell is an excellent option for consideration.  The expense of this product makes it an easy temporary solution whereas the long life-span when buried makes it a great long term solution that can easily be landscaped into the local environment as desired.  Details can be seen at the following web page:

https://www.flooddefensegroup.com/defencell-coastal-erosion-control-the-long-term-temporary-solution-in-southern-california/

I have done nothing, I’m broke, flood water is coming, what do I do?

There are loads of techniques, tricks, and ideas on what can be done which are largely driven by budget and I could write a book but if I only had a few dollars in my pocket to spend…..I would spend it on plastic and Gorilla Tape and effectively wrap my house in plastic.  I would also want some sandbags and ‘lawn stakes’ to ensure it is tacked to the ground.

As a former infantry soldier (Go 82^nd Airborne!), I enjoy having as many lines of defense as I can between me and the potential threat.  This could include any of the following:

Removable flood barriers = Line of Defense
Plastic over removable flood barriers = Line of Defense
Protect a door from flooding = Line of Defense
Stop floodwater from backflowing up a pipe = Line of Defense
Ensure gutters expel water outside your barrier = Internal Defense
Plastic Your House = Line of Defense
Sump Pump = The Alamo!  The Last Line of Defense! 

In this case, putting plastic against your house alone is a poor defense that sometimes works and is worth a shot if survival of your home depends on it but not a very good plan for the long term.  Similar to the segment above titled “Mitigate Against a Rising Water Table” you can use the same plastic technique directly against the structure you are protecting which is well described as a ‘last ditch effort’.

• If you are left with this as a last option here are some ideas and tips
  – Make sure the plastic rests directly against the structure higher than the height of anticipated floodwaters andall the way to the ground while making sure the plastic does not support any water weight. You then pull any/all extra plastic toward the incoming floodwater and anchor down.

– Make sure water cannot get under the plastic as it approaches the housewhen it first comes in contact with your plastic!!  It must be forced on top of the plastic!

– Make sure every effort is made to seal plastic to ground when working around trees, shrubs, posts, ect…  Lawn staples work great in quickly and securely stick plastic sheeting to the ground over soil and grass.

– Gorilla tape works great on dry surfaces especially if it is warmed.  Flex tape appears to work great just about anywhere but will remove paint.  Use tape to secure plastic to the ground and walls over concrete, wood, and other sticky surfaces to prevent water from getting under or behind the plastic sheeting.  Sandbags or even scoops of shoveled dirt are also effective to keep your plastic anchored to the ground

– Wooden beans like 2”x 4” planks can be used to quickly ‘scab’ or securely screw/secure plastic to a structure.

– Never put plastic UNDER a removable flood defense barrier which includes sandbags.  The friction value of plastic is too low and barriers can be pushed out of place by floodwater when sitting on top of plastic

– Be aware of wind.  Big sheets of plastic can easily blow out of place with wind.  TRICK – If you lay out plastic, you can sometimes spray water on it to help it squish to the ground and stay in place while waiting for floodwaters to arrive.

– Is the fence surrounding your yard capable of holding plastic and floodwaters?  This could be an easy extra line of defense!  Plastic is comparatively cheap!!!

– If protecting windows and doorways, we have specialized panel systems like the Flood Gate by Quickdams but in an emergency, you may find that screwing a sheet of ¾ plywood over a hole to be covered with some weather stripping to create a better seal (like a gasket) and finished off with a sheet of plastic to cover it MIGHT do the trick.  Tape down the edges of the plastic to always prevent water from getting between the plastic and the structure you are protecting.

– Are the downspouts of your gutters correctly removing water from the area?

– Do you have any sandbags?  They sure are nice to have when needed!

– Sump pumps are cheap and a great additional line of defense!  Make sure you figure out where any water would or should pool and prepare an area for your sump pump.  NOTE:  Water activated sump pumps are a great option for flood defenses that are not being monitored.

Covering your house with plastic is not a very good Plan A but in the absence of an alternate solution and in the face of floodwaters coupled with the desire to do something, these are actionable options or ides for the final evaluation or endorsement of the reader.  At Flood Defense Group, we pride ourselves in having a fantastic line-up of the best barriers and related designs on the market when it comes to flood defense but we will take excessive amounts of time to provide feedback and ideas on how people can protect themselves from in incoming crisis even if it does not include our barriers as we simply enjoy helping.

Call us for a chat  (208-585-1815)

A quick discussion may be time well spent in talking through your flood issues and nailing down options or ideas that work versus ones that would not be well suited for your problems.  If you could benefit from talking over options or ideas on how to stop floodwater at your house whether it be one of our barriers or something else entirely, we are always happy to field a phone call, perhaps look at some pictures, and have a conversation.  Sometimes, the action of picking up the phone and talking through your flood problem goes a long way in developing actionable ideas to defend yourself from floodwaters future.

We are available to help if you are experiencing flooding or looking to buy flood barriers throughout the Great Lakes Region and the US at large.  Flood Defense Group remains available to help out anybody we can.

Keith Anderson (CEO)
Flood Defense Group
keith.anderson@flooddefensegroup.com
1-208-585-1815

This is a site that required aversatile flood barrier capable of allowing existing pipework to transition through it while also tying the barrier into and a sloped embankment.  Additionally, this project needed to be 8’ tall and capable of being left in place for a number of years without significant maintenance requirements.

HESCO Bastion was the clear flood protection system of choice in this project for a variety of reasons.

• HESCO Bastion easily stacks to achieve 8’ in protective height
• HESCO Bastion offers robust protection against flood waters and the power of the Mississippi River
• HESCO Bastion is easily modified to conform around existing pipework
• HESCO Bastion can be left in place for many years with minimal maintenance
• HESCO Bastion is the most economical and effective option on the market in achieving greater heights of flood protection which can easily be built higher at a later date as required

Below are some of the features of this project

How to tie a HESCO Bastion floodwall into an earthen embankment?

Create additional stability or support for your HESCO Bastion Floodwall

Flood Defense Group is excited to announce that the NOAQ Boxwall flood defense barrier is now available for immediate purchase from Life Safety Technologies Special Systems LLC 440-309-7099

With the great lakes already at record levels and expected to remain at record levels through the first half of 2020, flooding and erosion are going to be a problem. This is the current projection under normal conditions, and should high precipitation totals also occur, flood concerns will only grow.

Throughout the shoreline, lagoons, and tributaries of the Great Lakes, erosion is taking place at an accelerated rate with high lake levels allowing floodwaters to rise and start the slow creep inland toward structure on the water.

If you are looking to protect yourself from flooding, we have long term as well as short term solutions.

What can Life Safety Technologies Special Systems LLC provide when it come to flood defense or to defend against eroding coast lines?

In addition to having stock of the NOAQ Boxwall which is one of the fastest and easiest products on the market to deploy against incoming floodwaters, there are also a variety of other barriers and heights to choose from. If you need to stop floodwater that is only a couple inches up to 1’ or have potential for several feet of floodwater, we have the capability of achieving any height when it comes to flood defense.

If you live on the Great Lakes whether it be in Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, or New York, you are likely experiencing some sort of land loss through erosion or likely know somebody who is. In addition to being able to provide temporary flood defense barriers, we can also assist with ‘flood defense landscaping’ in the form of creating reinforced berms which act as permanent flood protection as well providing protection against eroding coastlines.

Throughout the area of the Great Lakes, there can be found a variety of different flooding problems which we are well suited to protect against. We are noticing the following types of flooding in this area and are well suited to assist

• Slow rising lake flooding
• Flood water backing up into tributaries and spilling out their banks
• Flooding from erosion and land loss
• Surface flooding from rain events due to poor drainage and/or saturated soils
• River flooding during high precipitation events or spring run-off.

If you are looking to protect yourself from flooding and are interested to know where to purchase the NOAQ Boxwall or a variety of other flood barriers in Ohio, Michigan, or throughout the Great Lakes region, your local contact details are below.

In addition to selling flood defense barriers and keeping regional stockpiles throughout the USA, we can assist with site specific feedback. Maybe you are not sure which barrier is best for you. Perhaps you could use a 2nd opinion on available options or would simply like to cost out a variety of different options available, we can help.

You can contact your local distributor of flood defense barriers for detailed pricing but if you want a quote, you only need to provide details on which flood barrier you are looking at as well as a delivery zip code unless you collect them yourself.

If you are looking for feedback specific to your flood problem, send us some pictures! If you can send us some pictures detailing the problem you are dealing with as well as any projections you have on depth of flood waters, this typically gives us all the information we need to provide site specific feedback for initial review.

We understand that flood defense barriers are about as exciting of a purchase as a new roof or a new air conditioning system for your home. It is something you need but get little enjoyment out of but once the floodwaters arrive, the gratification of having protected your home from the costly disaster associated with flooding is profound.

We always tell homeowners subject to flooding that it is wise to at least start costing out flood barrier options even if you are not ready to purchase. That way, when the flood waters arrive, you will at least have a plan that can be initiated immediately because once flood waters arrive, time for planning is over and this window of time can close quickly.

If you are looking to purchase flood barriers in this region,
Richard Pall
Life Safety Technologies Special Systems LLC
richspall@aol.com
440-309-7099
760 Sunnyside Rd
Vermilion, OH 44089

Flood Defense Group specializes in flood protection for homes, businesses, and communities at large and have grown to appreciate the unique capabilities of the Flood Gate product to quickly protect a doorway during a flood. It is simple by design and an easy product to deploy. Homeowners can purchase it online to protect a front door from flooding without the need for a consultation or a 3rd party contractor to conduct modifications to your home while coming in at a price that beats the competition.

The Flood Gate barrier system comes as a user-ready kit in a variety of widths which come in 5” increments depending on the size of the doorway requiring flood protection.  With this system, the general process from start to finish is;

• Measure doorway from jamb to jamb
  NOTE: Location of fit should be flush and smooth with 90-degree angles at the base.  Additional steps can be taken to seal up brick work and rough textures.

• Ensure a minimum reveal of 1.25” to 2” within the door frame for product fit
  NOTE: Steps can be taken to protect any doorway with this product if there is not space within the door frame for this product to fit which are more invasive in that they require a mounted bracket

• Order appropriate size Flood Gate
• Remove from box upon arrival
• Put on neoprene sleeve which creates your water-tight seal

• Use the internal jack to wedge this product into place within the doorway

• Tighten pre-attached bolts at the bottom to seal the barrier to the ground

• Done – most doorways remain operational

• Remove and store for future use

There are detailed user instructions for this product which should be read thoroughly but those are the basic steps

Flood Gate vs other flood panel systems

Flood Defense Group generically classifies ‘flood panel systems’ as a barrier designed to protect openings within a structure and/or longer flood fencing applications using thinner panels or planks in a variety of dimensions.  Common products or phrases within this industry include flood panels, flood planks, flood logs, flood fence, and flood gates.  Common applications of these products include flood protection of doorways, garage doors, windows, elevator shafts, parking garages, gaps between structures, compartmentalization of key equipment, and flood fencing.

We provide multiple of these type options and with an understanding of pricing throughout this industry, believe that the Flood Gate provides the best value in ‘cost per square foot’ of protection provided at less than $100 without additional installation requirements on most cases.  Through our efforts to understand alternative options and relevant prices for these type systems, we believe that establishing a ‘cost per square foot’ of protection provided to be the appropriate metric for comparing flood paneling type systems and the Flood Gate beats all competing products we are aware of on price

This product can be generally installed with ease into the majority of doorways that require protection without modifying the building or ground in any way but we commonly need to protect sliding doors, double doors, and garage doors from flooding as well as doors which are flush with the building leaving no doorway to fit into.  In these cases, the Flood Gate provides options in being able to install ‘Stanchions’ which are ground anchored, removable, upright supports to link barriers when sealing off a longer opening or wall mounted brackets in creating anchor points.  We are happy to have the option with these additions to protect large doorways from flooding or creating a flood fence for a variety of applications.

If the texture of the location the Flood Gate is butting up to is rough, this could allow potential for seepage.  A bead of silicone caulk is helpful in sealing any voids associated with rough textured surfaces.  It is important to note that there are types of silicone caulk which easily peel off without leaving residue to clean up.

Flood Defense Group has alternate options available which includes the EZ Panel.  This is a robust panel, compliant with FEMA TB 3-93 standards, and well suited to achieve heights greater than the 26” height of the Flood Gate.  The EZ Panel is an amazing product that may bring down flood insurance rates but is slightly more robust than required to protect your front door from flooding within a residential flood defense application.  While we appreciate the importance of having a variety of flood defense solutions for a variety of potential flood scenarios, we cannot be happier with the simple, effective, and economical solutions provided by the Flood Gate to quickly block off doorways during a flood.

Flood Gate Pricing and Product Dimensions:

There are volume discounts available for the purchase of multiple units/pallets and in conducting comparisons within the industry, simply calculate the cost per square.  Depending on the product you are comparing, it is important to include installation and shipping costs.

In summary, Flood Defense Group has deployed the Flood Gate product and wholeheartedly endorse it.  If you are looking to purchase the Flood Gate in the USA, we have this product in stock in multiple warehouses across the country and available for immediate shipping.  If you need to protect a door from flooding, we believe that the FloodGate is an amazing product and tops our list of ‘go-to’ options.

Flood Defense Group

info@flooddefensegroup.com
1-208-585-1815

We understand that purchasing flood defense barriers can be quite a process with more questions than answers. Most individual product providers of any given flood defense barrier will commonly tell you their product is the ‘best’ product when asked out of conviction in the product they represent. This leaves you to evaluate whether this is true in the face of a potentially biased opinion and what product really is the best for you. Why is one product better than the other? What product is best for me? How much does it cost? And in the case of incoming floodwaters… HOW FAST CAN I GET IT!!

Flood Defense Group has a thorough understanding of the flood barrier industry and product specific solutions unique to a large variety of flood problems. We can help with simple questions like ‘How much is the NOAQ Boxwall’ or more challenging questions like ‘How to redirect debris flows with HESCO Bastion?’ Additional questions include:

Perhaps you have product specific or application specific questions

• What is the cost for 1 mile of a 12’ tall HESCO Bastion floodwall? How long will it take to build?
• How to prevent coastal erosion with Defencell?
• What type of flooding are water filled tubes commonly used for?
• Why is Muscle Wall among the best removable flood barrier options in a hurricane?
• Can the NOAQ Boxwall be used on uneven surfaces?
• What can I use for temporary containment, primary containment, or secondary containment?
• Can I incorporate flood defense landscaping into my temporary flood barrier action plan?
• How is the Alteau Mobile Flood Barrier different than the Watergate Flood Barrier?
• Is the Flood Gate or the EZ panel best protect my front door from flooding?

Flood Defense Group enjoys being able to provide quality feedback and solutions unique to your flood problems with the ability to discuss why a given solution is better than another.  We are also happy to volunteer information about alternative options within the industry that may be better suited for a specific problem.  We believe that through our desire to provide our customers with thorough answers and quality feedback combined with unbeatable pricing that they will continue to come back for which we are always thankful.

Flood Defense Group – Key Projects, Activities and Developments for 2019