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\nOne of the new Ark flood barriers which was set up as a precaution in Wairoa. Photo \/ Annaleise Shortland<\/p>\n
The local makers of a temporary, reusable dam say it has the potential to protect homes, businesses and critical infrastructure across the motu from flooding.<\/p>\n
Two councils that have repeatedly dealt with devastating storm damage have bought Tarpaulin Makers\u2019 Ark flood barriers – an alternative to sandbags.<\/p>\n
Wairoa civil defence crews deployed them for the first time last month, when the Hawke\u2019s Bay town was forecast to be hit hard by a storm.<\/p>\n
It escaped the worst of the weather so the barriers were not needed, but Mayor Craig Little said it was a good exercise.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just gives people a little bit of security,\u201d he said. Plus, it was far easier than filling and lugging hundreds of sandbags around town.<\/p>\n
\nOne of the new Ark flood barriers which was set up as a precaution in Wairoa. Photo \/ Annaleise Shortland<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cost of the damage from flooding afterwards far outweighs the cost of having those,\u201d said Little.<\/p>\n
The 14.5m long PVC tubes join together to create a continuous barrier, equivalent to 160 sandbags.<\/p>\n
Once they\u2019re filled with water \u2013 via a fire hydrant or water truck, in about 10 minutes \u2013 they\u2019re half a metre high, heavy and strong.<\/p>\n
After a flood, they can be emptied, rolled up and stored.<\/p>\n
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\nThe barriers are easy to deploy and can be stored after use. Photo \/ LinkedIn, Tarpaulin Makers<\/p>\n
Klint Brittain-Freemantle from Tarpaulin Makers is the brains behind the gear.<\/p>\n
Well before he joined the Tauranga-based company he had seen similar products overseas. Unable to find anything homegrown, he took up the challenge himself.<\/p>\n
Living in Napier, he had witnessed homes under stormwater, and then Cyclone Cook hit in 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cI drove in from home and deployed it out the front of my workshop across our big front roller doors and office.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe water came right up to the doors, and it basically stopped it getting flooded, the places next door to us got flooded, all through the workshop floors, but we weren\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
What\u2019s now known as the Ark flood barrier, sold by Tarpaulin Makers, was born.<\/p>\n
Brittain-Freemantle urged local authorities to consider them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s almost soul-destroying at this point because we\u2019ve got this product that\u2019s so good and we know it works so well, and seeing people getting flooded around the country, like the recent ones in Wairoa [after Cyclone Gabrielle] … something like 400 houses got flooded.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if we would have saved a fraction of that, that\u2019s huge for those people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tarpaulin Makers owner and general manager Beni Hafoka said many communities had big plans for flood resilience infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey might take 10 years to put in place, and in the meantime, communities need some short-term solutions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what Ark is.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the product would not prevent major flooding, it could be used strategically, he said.<\/p>\n
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\nThe 14.5m tubes can be connected to make a continuous barrier. Photo \/ LinkedIn, Tarpaulin Makers<\/p>\n
\u201cIn [Cyclone] Gabrielle, there was a particular power station that only just flooded up a couple of hundred mil.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo if we had Ark wrapped around that power station, we save that power station.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tair\u0101whiti civil defence made the first purchase.<\/p>\n
For controller Ben Green, it added an element of speed to flood response.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have time, you\u2019re dealing with something that\u2019s situational, and the ability to rapidly deploy … that type of equipment … can be quite a game-changer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Green said they bought 10 at about $4000 each, but the cost would come down for larger orders.<\/p>\n