Designed to withstand explosions and car crashes…. but will they stand up to Jersey’s super-tides?

The Waterwall pyramid dam system was deployed for the first time in the Beaumont area as 40-foot super-tides hit the Island’s coast last weekend.

However, relatively calm conditions meant that the defences were not severely tested.

‘The tidal situation wasn’t the worst it could have been,’ said Kevin Armstrong of the Transport Department.

‘There was a bit of water over the walls on Saturday morning, but nothing really tested the Waterwalls.’

The Transport Department will use the units, which have been loaned to them by UK manufacturer Cintec, to defend against further super-tides expected next month.

The Waterwalls being used this February, alongside more traditional sand bagsThe Waterwalls will hopefully help TTS staff deal with future floods

After that, they will look at making purchases depending on their cost and effectiveness.

The triangular units are pumped full of water and weigh 1,700 kg when fully deployed.

The Waterwall has also been used by Cintec in a restoration project at Egypt’s step pyramid, where they are used to support the burial chamber while work is carried out on its ceiling.

The Waterwall project is still in its early stages and the costs have not yet been finalised for the product. Following the large tides in March, further super-tides are expected in in September.

Jersey was hit by the first of several predicted 'supertides' in FebruaryJersey's seawalls take a battering when high tides combine with storm conditionsThe Waterwalls can be used as barriers

What are Waterwalls?

Manufactured from poly-vinyl-chloride (PVC) coated fabric, Waterwall structures are internally reinforced using a specialist stitching technique to enable them to maintain their shape and stability. Before use, the structures are partially inflated with air to assist with handling and positioning. They are then filled with water, which displaces the air through a pressure relief valve.

The time taken to fill each unit varies depending on its size and the pressure of the water supply but typically takes ten minutes or less. The water can then be emptied out and the unit stored for future use.

What are they used for?

Waterwall products of varying shapes and sizes have been designed to contain and isolate devices ranging in size from a shoe to a car bomb. These include the Mini Hex Bin, Maxi Hex Bin, Blast Bin and Ram Bag. The structural Stability of the Waterwall design has also enabled Cintec International to produce a unit large enough to enclose a vehicle of up to seven tonnes, also a range of blast panels that can be linked together and rapidly deployed to lessen the impact of explosions for checkpoint security and vehicle search purposes.

Source: Cintec

Emma Mackley, owner of the Splash Surf Centre, which was almost destroyed in February 2014

A MAJOR clean-up operation was carried out in February last year after Jersey was hit by the worst tidal flooding for six years.

Homes were flooded, sea walls were damaged and a number of businesses were destroyed as waves battered the south and west coasts.

The majority of the damage occurred during the high tides over the weekend and followed a red tide warning – the highest possible alert – from the Met Office.

During a weekend of repeated flooding at high tide:

  • A number of beach-side businesses, including the Pizza Quarter at Grève d’Azette and Dom’s Beach Shack at Long Beach, were destroyed. A shipping container used by the shack was also washed down the beach and was later removed.
  • An honorary police officer suffered minor injuries after she was swept into a wall by a freak wave as she directed traffic in St Clement on Saturday night.
  • Sea walls at St Ouen and Le Bourg in St Clement were damaged, leaving some patios damaged by flood water.
  • A number of properties, including a cottage near Corbière Lighthouse, were flooded.
  • And Plémont beach was closed after more than 500 tonnes of rock crashed down from the cliff face.

Roads along the south coast were left strewn with seaweed, rocks and sand as huge waves – recorded at up to 23 feet high by a wave measurer five miles out to sea – battered the Island.

Large sandbags lined areas of the south coast throughout the weekend and TTS officers worked around the clock to help with the clean-up.

Tim Jones attempts to join the cycle path but had to give up. He is pictured in front of the water barrier erected by TTS

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