“Over the past number of years I have researched into the use of sandbags as a rapid response tool for the both the Environment Agency and Local Authorities. Using the EA’s Freedom of Information Service anyone can collate their spend on sandbags specific to flood defences.
| Year | Budget spend on unfilled sandbags |
| 2007 – 2008 | £74,200* |
| 2006 – 2007 | £54,900 |
| 2005 – 2006 | £45,800 |
| 2004 – 2005 | £45,000 |
*Estimated by the EA.
If we take the 2007 – 2008 figure of £74,200 and assume that 70% of these bags are used as flood protection, the real cost to the EA will be £207,760 as it typically costs between £2.50 – £4.50 to fill and distribute a single bag!
According to FloodPACT (Parishes and communities together) a sandbag flood protection barrier which is 0.6m high requires 50+ filled sandbags per linear metre. Therefore a linear metre of sandbagging costs a staggering £200 [50 x £4.00]. If you then consider that sandbag barriers are:
− Often ineffective
− Non repeatable
− Slow to assemble
− Manpower and resource hungry.
These points demonstrate that the EA (and local authorities) are wasting a large proportion of their budgets on sandbags. Sir Michael Pitt’s findings, published earlier in the year validate this position:
ES.49 – ‘…..The Review was unable to obtain any significant evidence that sandbags were particularly effective during the 2007 summer floods in providing protection to individual households.’
ES.50 – ‘Nethertheless, sandbags are still widely regarded as an important focus for community action and they should not be simply withdrawn. The general provision of sandbags should be phased out in favour of better products such as kite-marked flood boards, air bricks and other forms of temporary defence’
Currently only a handful of temporary barriers are available on the market. These products are highly engineered and as such are extremely expensive, ranging from £400 to £1,000+ per linear metre. In the right scenarios they work well, but they could never become ubiquitous (like sandbags) because:
− Most require bolting to the ground
− Slow to assemble
− Skilled personnel are needed for assembly
− Very expensive
− Sections of barrier are often bulky
− Not very flexible, bespoke to each scenario.
Throughout the research & development of the FLOODSTOP flood defence barrier, Fluvial Innovations has listened intently to the market place. This has allowed us to develop a rapid response tool that is truly superior to sandbagging. Not only, in terms of function and speed of deployment but also in cost”.