Currently available barriers were designed for flood protection of large commercial properties, and are not well-suited for residential use.
Residential flood barriers--key challenges:
- Aesthetics--needs to have minimal impact on home's appearance and landscaping.
- Time/effort to deploy--the shorter/easier the better, so homeowner will be willing and able to deploy the barrier before a potential flood.
- Cost--current products very expensive for a homeowner.
- Leakage--every flood barrier will leak to some extent, generally worse if deployed by homeowner.
- Customization--every home is a bit different, an "off the shelf" barrier(s) will not provide effective "full home" protection.
- Regulations--most flood barrier products violate floodplain regulations during use.