Old theory behind new flood defence system

Proof of concept for a new automatic form of flood defence has been successfully demonstrated by a Herefordshire company, Repel Limited. Unlike so many increasingly ‘high-tech’ solutions employed to address everyday problems, the concept relies on an idea as old as science itself - that of Archimedes.

The ‘Higginson Barrier’ is an automatic flood defence that employs flood water itself to raise and lower a protective mechanism around an entire property, be that domestic, agricultural or commercial.

The patent pending design is likened by its designer to the concept of a boat moored in a harbour. At low tide, the boat rests on the sand; but as the tide rises, the buoyancy of the boat causes it to rise with the tide until it is floating. For Repel, the differences between boat and ‘Higginson Barrier’ are that the sides of the boat are ‘fixed’ to the seabed and the boat has no bottom.