| 87 T T Richard Loader New flood protection Three primary products make up the AquaFence brand, all with quite different applications. DrySite CONTRACTING The Auckland Anniversary floods in January of 2023 were the catalyst for Piers Faulkner to ignite his entrepreneurial spirit and investigate a purpose-designed flood-protection system that could prevent the significant impact of flooding. “I felt there had to be a better solution,” says Piers. “We’ve been using sandbags for eternity and why haven’t we got a better option in this country. I scoured the internet to find a better solution, and came across a Norwegian company called AquaFence that has been manufacturing industrial-grade flood protection for the last 25 years.” Piers had already been operating a business called Drysite, and after doing due diligence made the call to pivot the business towards flood protection, securing the New Zealand distribution rights for the Norwegian product. “AquaFence has been operating in Europe and the United States providing high-performance deployable flood barriers to protect airports, hospitals, commercial shop fronts, private residential prosperities and other assets from the impact of flooding. Really, AquaFence products have application to any commercial or residential property that is likely to be impacted by flooding. “The Auckland Anniversary flooding was a one in 200-year event, but they are becoming more regular and more intense, not only in New Zealand but across the globe. So with climate change, the need for flood protection is increasing and with the AquaFence product we’re trying to find a niche.” Three primary products make up the AquaFence brand, all with quite different applications. FloodWall is the premium product designed to ring-fence high-value assets such as airports, hospitals and power stations, preventing water penetration. The product is site-specific, based upon water flow and height, with the solution engineered to mitigate the potential flood risk. A modular product, the components stay in a packaging crate stored on site with a deployment plan for when needed by the customer’s trained staff. “That product is widely used across the eastern seaboard of the United States where they have storm surges,’ says Piers. “Another product is FloodBarricade, and is designed for residential properties. It’s custom made, similar to FloodWall but on a smaller scale and covers the openings of a house, such as entrances, garage doors or driveways. We have been working closely with Weir Consulting, who are experts in overland flood paths and water engineering to assist with the engineering of these products, but we also use the expertise of AquaFence engineers in Norway.” The third product, FlashWall, is designed more for malls, shops, dairies – anything where there is a risk of water running along the footpath. “You pull FlashWall from behind your counter and run it along the shop entrance to prevent water entry. Customers can step over it and the business can still operate.” With many businesses frequently subjected to flooding and flood damage, and finding it difficult to get insurance, Piers has been making insurers aware of AquaFence. With a passion for engineering design, Weir has forged a strong reputation amongst its clients for being technical specialists in hydraulics, threewaters infrastructure, and lood risk. Based out of o ices in Auckland and Tauranga, Weir currently o ers its professional services throughout theBayof Plenty, Waikato, Auckland andNorthland regions. “Our customers are primarily public sector asset owners, such as Councils,” says Managing Director NavinWeeraratne. “We have just completed a signi icant design of loodmitigationwork, including a pump station, for theWhangarei District Council, andwe are deliveringmultiple services to Auckland Council and Auckland Transport. We alsowork alongside contractors on design and build infrastructure contracts.” Navin says that as consultantsWeir can provide professional services that cover the full project life cycle spanning investigation and design through to consenting, procurement, and construction. Weir can also sub-consult andmanage deliverables by other specialist consultants, such as geotechnical and structural engineers, to o er their clients access to amulti-disciplinary design service. “Our role is to be the technical eyes and ears of our client organisations. For example, our clientmay require a newpipeline. Wewill workwith that client’s projectmanager and other key sta , to complete necessary site Engineering Solutions for a Resilient Future Water Infrastructure | Flood Risk | Civil Engineering www.weirconsulting.co.nz | info@weirconsulting.co.nz | 204/150 Karangahape Rd, Auckland investigations and analyses, and investigate potential design solutions including pipe routes and alignments. Wewill then develop a concept design for further engagement with our client, and other relevant stakeholders such asmanawhenua and local residents, prior to developingmore detailed designs to support consenting and procurement requirements. We e ectivelywalk a journeywith our clients, which includes consideration of all project risks spanning procurement and construction through to operation, maintenance, and eventual decommissioning. This is key to ensuring our clients, and their rate payers, receive value for theirmoney”. Weir is also the consultant of choice for DrySite, the Auckland based company o eringworld leading lood protection services to a diverse range of commercial and residential clients. “We are DrySite’s advisor on themore complex sites requiring lood risk assessments or engineering design. Our workwith DrySite aligns with theworkwe typically do for our public sector clients, which is establishing risks of looding to existing property, and identifying it for purpose and cost-e ectivemitigation solutions that are compliant with regulatory requirements, and are also safe to own and operate.” With its industry reputation as experienced technical specialistsWeir is also frequently sought after for peer and technical reviewwork.
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