Patent Application
20200032471
During the Nor'easter storm of March of 2018, our neighborhood was flooded due to a severe wind with high tides that splashed water over the seawalls and the pounding rain that came with the storm too. Once the sea water splashed over the seawalls, because there is no drainage system for this type of a storm, the seawalls began to trap the water inside like a bathtub. Then, as the tide turned and sea level receded, the trapped water tried to escape between the cracks of the seawalls like a hose aiming for the beach. Even at low tide, there was no proper drainage, and the splashed seawater was unable to return to sea. The normal conventional street drainage infrastructures were completely clogged with debris like shells, seaweeds, mud, rocks and sand.
Since the trapped water was unable to escape, now the water level inside the seawalls were actually higher than the beach! (Photo A, B, C and D) No sooner, the second-high tide came and continued to trap even more water inside the seawalls, and causing erosions below the seawalls, and then the walls began to crack due to the bathtub pressure.
To make the matter worse, the tide gates broke during the storm at the marsh, and the power outage made them completely useless. The tide-gates too behaved like the seawalls, and began to trap the water inside the marsh like a bathtub, even at low tide. The marshes cannot handle such quantity of water and water from the marsh too began to spill over into the home and into the streets.
Moreover, the storm came with a severe rain, it too trapped additional water inside the marsh's bathtub, and in the land, street areas. Then, due to the ground saturation from the trapped water inside these seawalls and marshes, the trapped water began to enter into the basements from the floors of the basements, and the massive flooding ensued.
Therefore, these seawalls that are built to save us from the storms became a manmade bathtub and trapping the water inside land. Now, we have a manmade flooding.
Finally, during these super storms, when we are in desperate need of fast drainage the most, we had absolutely no drainage system at all. The conventional drainage/outfall systems were no match for these severe super storms with splashed water over the seawalls during the high tides, and were inundated with rain from above, and too overwhelmed by ton of wind, backup pressure force. In addition, since they are located at or buried below the street level, they are unable to adapt to such powerful storms. Thus, when we really needed the drainage the most, the current drainage systems were not working or functioning at below capacity as it was originally designed. Furthermore, it became a liability as a source a way for the storm water to backup into the homes via plumbing and/or sewage systems, into the streets via outfalls/drainage pipes, and exacerbate the flooding further.
Because we didn't evacuate during the storm, we were able to witness the entire storm cycle from high to low tides, for 3 consecutive days, while our neighborhood slowly became an island and surrounded by trapped water inside the manmade bathtub.
The problem was very clear: current fixed wall barriers, and like seawall designs are unable to drain water. As a result, additional flooding is created by the trapped water; this is the byproduct of the manmade wall barrier designs.
Now many cities like us are planning to build even taller walls to mitigate flooding. Unfortunately, as we make these walls taller, it will only create deeper bathtubs, and the severity of manmade flooding will increase even more.
Unfortunately, these fixed barriers like concrete walls were designed to minimize flooding and storm damages at coastal area or other various waterfront properties like riverbanks, bay, beach, ocean and low lying areas. However, due to increasingly unpredictable weather patterns of super storms, powerful rain, snow and early Spring thaw has created trapped water to fill inside these fixed walls near the land, streets and marshes, like a bathtub.
Therefore, even as the storm recedes, the trapped water inside these fixed wall barriers continued to flood the properties far longer and increase the flood risk. This is because these walls were never designed for drainage, only to keep the water out.
Now, the walls are no longer able to keep us safe, rather it has become hazardous, especially with all the impervious surface areas created by man, like parking lot, asphalt street, concrete pavements, downspout drainage systems and more buildings near the water. Once the water enters the land area, there is really not many places to go anymore. Thus, the troubles of man's affinity water.
Therefore, this traditional concept of building walls without incorporating drainage systems has become a severe drainage problem all over the world.
So, out of this disaster, Integrated Drain Gate Seawall System (IDGSS) was born.
Our invention of the Integrated Drain Gate Seawall System is not only used as a reinforcement system to mitigate the shoreline erosion near the oceans, rivers, lakes and other large bodies of water, but even more importantly, when we need the drainage the most, it will allow the captured water to be released back to where it came from like the sea, as soon as the water recedes.
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2) In addition, other systems like tide gates, when the Float switch cannot operate due to the electrical power outage, it further exacerbated the bathtub scenario. Instead of letting the water out during the low tide, the tide gates only increase the amount of the water trapped even further.
3) Moreover, the normal street drainage systems are not functional during such storms, due to severe wind pressure from the sea. Matter fact, sea water came into the street not only over the walls but from the normal drainage systems below. It was causing additional flooding into the street. Then, as the water receded at sea during the low tide, we noticed that the drainage systems were completely blocked with the storm debris like mud, seaweed, sand, shells . . . etc. Therefore, when we really needed the drainage system the most, There was no drainage system during these severe storms!
4) Finally, during these super storms, when we are in desperate need of fast drainage system, we had absolutely no drainage at all. These drainage systems were not made for the severe storms since they are buried below the street level. This type of conventional drainage system was not made to adapt to such powerful storms.
In the end, our man made walls created further flooding by creating a bathtub without any overflow drainage system.
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, to be able to face the challenge of when water comes at all water front properties,
to adapt to climate changes
We must adapt to new environment by seawall storm surge barriers at low lying area
We must change the way we design the water barriers
The cost of storm damage are in millions and cities are vulnerable ever more.
Eventually something will happen and will flood
These walls are made to be climate resilient
Slow the energy of the storm, but when storm recedes, it can drain quickly
With the rising sea level and water border
Man has created a barrier between the areas of water and land. This system was designed to minimize the damages due to the flooding and storms at coastal area or other various waterfront properties. However, this barrier designs were missing an important point. Once the water enters inside the barrier, there was no efficient methods to drain the water again. Thus, causing negative consequences of creating a bathtub inside the barrier and causing further flooding.
During a severe storm, it is imperative that the water be drained as soon as possible, especially at sea. Since the water must drain during quickly before the next high tide. Time is of essence in this type of situation, to minimize the damages due to accumulated splashed water inside the wall barriers.
It is like having a plug at the side of the bathtub in case of emergency. We must think outside of the box. We wouldn't dare create bathtubs w/out a drainage at the top. Currently, we are building walls without them, and once the splashed water enters inside the walls, the waters are trapped and it is now causing additional flooding.
Overflow Structure. The bathtub drain is divided into two parts--the main drain and the overflow. The main drain is at the bottom of the tub and the overflow is a few inches below the rim. Both drains are connected to tubes which meet beneath the bathtub and merge into a single pip
When the sea water rises up and the marsh water is lower than the sea water level, the flap gate inside the drain gate will close by itself, because of the sea water pressure. Therefore, the sea water cannot enter the marsh.
This specialized seawall has a flap-gate integrated as a part of the drain system. In addition, it has columns embedded in the seawall itself, just in front of the flap-gate. These columns will defuse the water pressure during the storm, as the waves hit the seawall and the flap-gate.
This integrated drain gate seawall system has a flap-gate inside, that can drain the splashed over sea water and stop the sea water from entering the marsh, without any external power. It also has a barrier to protect the flap gate within the seawall as a one unit.
This type of integrated drain gate seawall can be inserted to any existing ordinary seawalls.
Now, after a severe storm damages like this, cities are planting to either rebuild walls/barrier even higher than the previous walls to combat the splashing over. However, unless we build a 20 feet tall walls or higher, it is not possible to prevent splashing over the concrete walls. Matter fact, the higher the walls become, the bathtub gets even bigger and the severity of flooding is even higher. Since the water also enters from the current drainage systems, due to backpressure.
we cannot stop the mother nature when it comes to the height of water splashing over our walls, but once the the water is inside these walls, we have to drain out as soon as possible to minimise the flood damages.
Due to increasingly unpredictable weather patterns of rain, snow and early Spring thaw has
waterfront properties such as riverbanks, lake shores and beaches of oceans, bays and the like to protect them from erosion and encourage accretion of beach sand and gravel are disclosed
Improved seawalls and the like can be built from L
Systems based upon such seawalls may further comprise groins per
Sy
As we live near the water, man has built fixed barriers likes many types of walls between the areas of water and land. This system was designed to minimize flooding and storm damages at coastal area or other various waterfront properties. However, where there is a super storms, these walls began to hold the spahsed water inside the land, street or marshes, like a bathtub. Unfortunately, because walls are only designed to keep the water out, even as the water recedes, like at low tide, the sea water is unable to return to drain.
T Thus, causing unintended consequences of creating a bathtub with the barriers like seawalls and causing further flooding.
IDGSS: New type of seawall with 2 functions: It not only stops the water from coming into the land but more importantly, able to drain the water back to the sea, as soon as the tide recedes.
This IDGSS can be inserted between the existing seawalls or it can be attached to an existing seawall with different configuration to meet the special topography needs
This drainage system does not require electricity, no special gates, or extra pipe/drainage necessary . . . only gravity.
PROBLEM: current seawall designs are unable to drain water.
During the extreme sea storms, the sea water splashes into the street/marsh. Unfortunately, because seawalls are only designed to keep the water out, even at low tide, the sea water is unable to return back to the sea.
Instead, the seawalls are holding the water like a bathtub and create further flooding instead of preventing the flood!!
This picture was taken during our own flooding at Quincy, Mass. The water inside the seawall is higher and unable to escape, even trying to escape below the seawall. The sea side shows that it is already a low tide.
Our invention of the Integrated Drain Gate Seawall System (IDGSS) is not only used as a reinforcement system to mitigate the shoreline erosion and flooding near the oceans, rivers, lakes, marsh and other bodies of water, but even more importantly, it provides the drainage system when it is needed the most. As soon as the water recedes, the IDSGSS system will release the trapped water back to where it came from.
Despite the wide applicability of the IDGSS systems of the invention near the water, for simplicity and easy understanding, we may express in terminology applicable to salt water beaches and near the marsh area.
Normally, manmade wall barriers are constructed to separate the dry land from rising and splashing water damages coming from bodies of water like beach, lake, ocean, river, marsh and bays alike. However, due to the rising sea level, severe flash flooding, and its increase in severity and frequency of the storms combined with an unpredictable weather patterns, now the walls are increasingly getting taller and even wider to mitigate the flood damages.
Unfortunately, there isn't adequate drainage system during these storms and cannot be mitigated with a conventional drainage system only. ie: high wave storms with the winds blowing upwards of 80 mph, or severe hurricane, and sea water splashing over during astronomical high tide, snow and early thaw, flash flooding of pouring rain in a short amount of time, and storm drainages backing up. The water is coming from above, sides and below. Therefore, without proper drainage system inside these manmade walls, it begins to trap water and behaves like a bathtub.
All normal bathtubs are automatically installed with 2 drainage systems; one at the bottom for a normal drainage and another near the top with an overflow drainage to eliminate the risk of causing the entire bathroom to flood. Regretfully, none of our walls have overflow drainage system like the bathtubs made for homes. Now, as we make the walls even taller, the bathtubs are getting deeper, and trapping even more water, to create additional flooding inside these manmade walls, and overflowing to land area.
So, in order to stop the bathtub created by manmade structures like concrete walls, Integrated Drain Gate Seawall System (IDGSS) is designed to resolve the bathtub scenario problem. Especially, with all the pre-existing walls that are no longer able to meet the today's flooding conditions due to climate changes, time is of essence to correct this bathtub problem as soon as possible before the next storm arrives.
Currently, the cost of replacing or building walls are in millions of dollars, not to mention the lead-in time required to obtain permits from various agencies, applying for federal and state grants, site survey and evaluations, and not to mention the actual time required to construct these new walls. We are talking years!! How do we know this? We are actually going through this process right now in our own neighborhood!
Thus, our IDGSS tries to solve these problems efficiently, in a timely manner, with a minimal cost; by having a customized, retrofit enabled, ready-made walls, which has a built-in drainage system integrated into a wall system already.
Currently, trapped water inside these manmade seawalls are unable to drain, even as the water begins to recede at low tide there was no way for the trapped water to return to sea or wherever it came from. However, with the IDGSS, the trapped water will be drained as long as the level of the trapped water is higher than the sea.
Just like the overflow drainage system for the bathtub, a one-way valve or flap drain gate is made together from the very beginning stage, as one unit within the concrete wall itself. Most importantly, it includes the pressure reducing walls and columns, to protect the intrinsic structures of the drainage gate wall system, from the extreme pressure damages brought on by the combined high wind speeds with water during the storm.
Most importantly, the IDGSS drains the trapped water automatically without relying on man power or electricity, and easily inspected and maintained since it is an exposed system; an ideal wall barrier and drainage system for super storms, to mitigate unpredictable weather conditions even during winter season.
In addition, since the IDGSS does not have to be installed for new construction only, it can be inserted between the existing walls and retrofit to allow pre-existing walls to remain and allow necessary drainage system. The IDGSS will have an adjustable size, style, color, material, and shape configurations for both the one-way valve or flap drain gate mechanism and for the wall constructions surrounding the gate, to meet the various site specifications and topography needs for the specific project.
Moreover, it can be made to retrofit to different location types like the marsh areas, where tide-gate and preexisting walls are already in place. IDGSS can work together as a backup, in case the tide-gate has a mechanical and/or electrical failure. Furthermore, the IDGSS can be added on one at a later time or as many as needed, to alleviate the drainage problems in an already existing wall barriers.
Therefore, IDGSS is a flood resilient system to meet the current drainage needs by incorporating with other fixed wall constructions. It is not only built to withstand the mother nature, but creating walls that are climate resilient with unpredictable weather patterns; by acknowledging that water levels can and will rise higher than the original prior wall specifications. Instead of destroying the existing walls, IDGSS has sustainability component by allowing pre-existing walls to mitigate the stresses of the drainage system when faced with these super storms.
We also see IDGSS as an emergency planning component to mitigate the storms, in case of tide-gate failure at the marsh, or the normal drainage system blocked with storm debris or overwhelmed, or one way check-valves for the outfall drainage systems break due to a ton of wind/water storm pressure, or local department of public services are unable to maintain the municipal drainage systems in a timely manner in the middle of the winter due to too many frequent storms or frozen drainage systems; and thus, unable to drain the trapped water from the bathtub.
Having IDGSS is like buying an insurance policy for a manmade wall hazardous plan, in the event of overflowing due to lack of drainage system and causing further flooding. This is a cost effective and immediate solution to a bathtub like flooding, an accidental byproduct caused by the manmade walls during an unpredictable storm patterns.
Finally, we don't need to wait 2 or 3 years until the entire drainage infrastructure system is studied, drawings made, permits pulled, and money borrowed or to be funded by federal or state, and wait for an entire new walls to be built. Instead, one of our IDGSS can retrofit into an existing wall structure and be used immediately to mitigate the hazardous flood conditions created by manmade walls. Thus, making all the pre-existing walls to become more storm resilient than ever before.
After all, the walls are designed to protect us, not to drown us further. It is about time that we think about these walls in a different manner, a transient, adaptable, sustainable and resilient revolving doors, instead of a fixed single door. We must think outside of the box. We need to drain the rising or trap water constantly and automatically in order to avoid the flooding caused by the climate change, especially at sea. We wouldn't dare make a bathtub without an overflow drainage at the top for an emergency. We shouldn't build walls without an emergency overflow drainage system for severe storms.
We cannot stop the mother nature, but once the water is inside these walls, we have to drain it out as soon as possible to minimize the flood damages.
The Integrated Drain Gate Seawall System (IDGSS) was created to mitigate flooding due to rising sea water and storm damages at costal area or other various bodies of water like riverbanks, bay, beach, ocean, marsh, lake and low-lying areas
Despite the wide applicability of the IDGSS systems of the invention near the water, for simplicity and easy understanding, we may express in terminology applicable to salt water, ocean, beaches and near the marsh area with a water barrier wall.
In addition, since major cities in the world are built near the shore line and the IDGSS can be of a great use to create a resilient coastal community by alleviating drainage problems, to facilitate easy access and to maximize the benefit of finding this invention for the users, the word “seawall” was included in the title name of the invention. However, the IDGSS is designed to create an additional drainage solution including all areas of water barrier walls, and not only for seawalls.
To solve the bathtub scenario flooding problem caused by the trapped water inside the manmade walls, especially during the storms with high tide and winds together with rain storms, the normal drainage infrastructure is unable to drain fast enough. Thus, overflow drainage system like IDGSS is needed. Although, these events are infrequent, the devastation caused by such storms are hazardous, costly and can cripple an entire city.
Therefore, in order to be able to mitigate and control the erosion, by wind, wave, at the beaches, riverbanks, lakefronts, bays and other water bodies, we need a flexible barrier system that has dual functioning barrier with a drainage system integrated. To facilitate such multifunctional water barrier walls, the drainage system must be integrated with the wall itself and its construction and usages are as follows but not limited to the illustrations of the Figures.
Once the specified topography has been designated for water barrier wall project construction, placements of IDGSS can be based on its proper elevation and grading specific per site location. In addition, 1 or more IDGSS systems can be placed based on the drainage requirements and to become resilient to flooding in the future.
The construction may be on site or precast IDGSS, and it is not only for the new construction, but retrofit to existing wall structures. Furthermore, the construction may be implemented proactively to adapt to changing conditions and flood elevations.
The IDGSS is used during the storms or when the normal drainage systems fail due to blockage, or mechanical failures, or failures of tide gates at the marsh, or other water barrier wall failures. Thus, the object of the present invention is to provide a wall barrier, which opens automatically under a predetermined water pressure to drain the water.
IDGSS consisting of combinations of 4 major components, as needed, to meet the project site specification; for optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and the manner of usage and operation of the dual functioning walls of IDGSS as a barrier and drainage, all in one.
In addition, this invention need not be created by reproducing the precise illustration like the
Currently, coastal barriers have seawalls only, to prevent the water from entering. However, during the major sea storm and at high tide, the rate of water entering is faster than normal. Therefore, the splashed water over the wall is now trapped and unable to drain quickly back to the sea during a low tide. As a result, additional flooding is created by the trapped water; this is the byproduct of the current manmade wall barrier designs.
The IDGSS is designed to resolve the bathtub problem due to trapped water behind the wall barriers, by gravity drainage system without human or electrical powers.
Due to inability to draw figures adequately, and illustrate the Integrated Drain Gate Seawall System (IDGSS), we have included photos of possible models that may be built to show the characteristics more clearly. In addition, the Figures are just an illustration of IDGSS and are not necessarily to scale.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62675199 | May 2018 | US |
