Fixing Flooding
Updated: Mar 30, 2023
Fixing Flooding
Introduction
Today humans are more at risk of climate change disaster than ever before. Currently, the increasing temperatures are melting away our ice caps which are causing sea levels to rise. With the warming of the planet, sea levels have been and will continue to beat records.
The most common natural disaster in the Uniters States occurs by flooding. Ninety-eight percent of the nation’s counties are susceptible to flood disasters. Flood mitigation in the United States sets its budgeted at 200 million dollars annually. Businesses in America pay an average of $ 985 a year for flood protection. Flood insurance premiums are on pace to increase as high as 25 percent annually. With 31.7 million small business in the United States is there a better way spend money for a solution instead of small band aids?
These eye-popping inputs should be a big enough cost to take new actions, but there are other factors we need to calculate in order to find the true cost of flooding. You also need to factor in direct lost output and the lost output during down time due to flooding. A study was conducted on over 700k business, in an effort to calculate the true cost of flooding, with the lost output included. The study from Forbes concluded, the cost of flooding in the year 2022 will be over$49 Billion, with a B, dollars.
How can we change the tide on spending and create products that tackle multiple problem areas?
Proper Points
Roadways in Low Elevation or Flood Zones
The first suggestion we would look at is involving our current infrastructure. The media would make it seems that we have neglected or eliminated spending on our roadway systems. That is not the case. In 2018, the United States spend $92.5 billion dollars on highway construction and road construction around the country. It is forecasted that we will spend 103 billion dollars this year on our road systems. How do we not have the most advanced roads in the world? How are major bridges crumbling with this vast resource of funds?
Our suggestion is a new technology for concrete, in an effort to use road systems to fight against flooding. What if we create a new concrete that was multi-pronged attack on our generation challenge, the climate? Currently there is a product that allows cement to absorb water, similar to a sponge. This is a fantastic start to help flood prone areas. But what if we take it up a notch or two!
This specialize concrete, that is able to absorb water, will be more expensive than tradition concrete. The way we cut down the cost of this transition is through limiting the surface area needed to be filled with the more advanced concrete. There are current techniques to eliminate concrete surface area with inexpensive sporting materials. However, I suggest we add to the creation. We use this creation to absorb water and funnel that water for green filtering/energy. This would create a multiprong strategy for roadways in our current infrastructure. Attacking flooding and water distribution during extreme saturation of the earths topsoil.
Hykeem the Dream Drain - Creating Power and Purified Water Through our Road Systems
The United States invests billions, 125 in 2017 to be exact, in our sewer systems across the country annually. These sewer systems allow for clean drinking water and the proper distribution of waste throughout our metropolitan cities. Humans learned the hard way through trial and tribulations of Cholera and such pleasantries as the “great stink”. What will be the next invention to revolutionize public health?
The Dream Drain collects water from a sponge like concrete and the water is processed based on the geographical desired outcome. The device will allow for distribution of unwanted water from elevated roadways, in the hopes of eliminating or preventing landsides from happen in mountainous areas. If the area is prone to flooding or in a low elevated area, the funnels can be used to distribute water to a traditionally less saturated area. The idea is to transport unwanted water to areas that desire water.
If the geographical area is not in a flood plain, the Dream Drain can be used to generate power using technology similar to a wind turbine. Flash flooding is becoming more and more prevalent today. Water moving at 9 feet per second is considered flash flooding. Water velocity at this rate can move objects that weigh a couple hundred pounds. Why not harness the natural energy that mother nature produces through water turbines in our sewer systems? By using physics in our sewer systems, we can create renewable energy naturally from rainwater.
Another function of the Dream Drain could be to purify the water in our sewer and homecare systems. Purifying water before it is distributed to the earths topsoil will improve the quality of our vegetation growth and our environment. After and during a storm, rain runoff contains such toxins as trash, fecal bacteria, nitro, phosphorus, oil, gas, pesticides, herbicides, road salt, cooper, lead, and zinc. The chemicals that we allow our soil to absorb end up in the food we consume. In home use, we could use the Dream Drain to funnel and purify rainwater to a garden, to feed landscape, or to harness drinking water. It doesn’t matter if you are consuming a salad, fish, or a land animal. We need to focus on the nutrition that our food consumes in order to achieve healthy eating and improve health outcomes.
Homes and Businesses in Hurricane Zones
With the increase of water levels and the increase in temperatures, weather is become more extreme around the world. Stronger hurricanes, more intense tornadoes, and unbelievable flooding are becoming more common. In 2015, hurricane Katrina killed 1800 people and caused more than $100 billion dollars in property damage. In 2017, hurricane Harvey caused $125 billion dollars in damage. In 2021, hurricane Ida is estimated to of caused anywhere between $16 to $24 billion dollars in property damage. Is it time we adjust how we build properties along the coastline to prevent major loses?
What if we could create a new process that helps reduce the cost of rebuilding post hurricane. If we require new homes to be elevated around coastal cities or hurricane prone cities, it could lead to a reduction in repetitive property damage. New mandates, with an emphasis in pile embedment, requiring properties be a certain height above sea level should be the first step. With the creation of new plastics that are twice as strong as steel, maybe we should require that the elevated homes be built out of this profound invention. Another step that can be taken is elevating entire blocks in areas like New Orleans. In 1860, James Hollingsworth helped raise a 35,000-ton city block by 4 ft 6 inches. This was accomplished in 4 days, over 160 years ago, in Chicago. Can we repeat this task in metropolitan areas that are below sea level?
Conclusion
There have been many great inventions that have transformed the way we live. The time is now to rethink how we build infrastructure and we need to find creative ways we can use nature to better our planet. The continued flooding of major metropolitan areas may need a new approach for molding their inner cities. It is time we stop expecting our citizens along the coast to rebuilding their life’s every natural disaster. With this method the most affected are always the “poor”. Typically, nothing is done until the issues react the upper class of American. Can we confidently ask ourselves, are we doing everything we can to be proactive in the next natural disaster crisis? Or are we repeating laissez faire crisis management found during the Renaissance period?
“Such a man, the world says, may lie down until he has sense enough to stand up. It is useless and cruel to put a man on his legs, if the next moment his head is to be brought against a curbstone."
“Happy the man who has been able to learn the causes of things”
“An equation means nothing to me unless it expresses a thought of god.”
Thank you for reading! Feel free to reach out if you are interest in more concrete answers of what further steps can be taken. Feel free to reach out to discuss ideas or if you have sug s. .
Sincerely,
Adam Grzyb
ASG Logics LLC
314-704-7961
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