FloodSax alternative sandbags can keep torrential floodwater out of homes and businesses FloodSax can also be used inside to soak up leaks and spills in the hardest-to-reach places

FloodSax alternative sandbags help the fight against flooding in the Welsh valleys

A forward-thinking Welsh council is distributing innovative alternative sandbags to help people protect their homes from flooding. 

The area covered by Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council is just to the south of the Brecon Beacons and was badly hit by flooding caused by Storm Dennis in mid-February 2020. 

Almost 1,500 properties were flooded internally and the torrential rain caused extensive flooding of infrastructure there including rail and road networks, town centres, business parks and leisure facilities. 

The Welsh Government provided funding to help Rhondda Cynon Taf Council improve the resilience of residential properties identified at higher risk of flooding from similar flooding disasters. 

As part of the project the council distributed FloodSax ‘sandless’ sandbags to those properties identified at higher risk of flooding in the future. 

FloodSax are offered to properties who Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council has identified as being at higher risk of flooding from local sources including surface water, ordinary watercourse and groundwater.

Lucy Bailey from FloodSax said: “Having traditional sandbags ready for flooding just isn’t a viable option. They take lots of space to store, are heavy and cumbersome to move and you can’t use them inside, unlike FloodSax.”

“Also, FloodSax are vacuum-packed  so are space-saving to store and quick and easy to deploy. They are an incredibly cost-effective way to have instant flood protection 24 hours a day 365 days a year.”

At first sight FloodSax resemble large pillowcases. But when they come into contact with water the gelling polymer inside them absorbs 20 litres which transforms them from being ultra-light to weighing 20kg in a few minutes and they are more effective than traditional sandbags at keeping water out. 

FloodSax are also multi-purpose, unlike sandbags. In their dry state, FloodSax are thin with a large surface area so are ideal to soak up drips, leaks and spills indoors in hard-to-reach places such as beneath boilers, below radiators and underneath pipes. 

For more on FloodSax go to http://www.floodsax.co.uk/