One of these solutions, made by Canadian company MegaSecur, is called Water-Gate dam and it is a self-locking water barrier that can be used as an alternative to hundreds of sandbags.

The Water-Gate provides protection up to 60 inches (1.5 m) and it is possible to join multiple barriers together to widen the field of intervention. The barrier has a high resilience capacity, which allows it to absorb impacts from objects without affecting its integrity.

The portable dam comes as a PVC roll and is reusable for quick flood control to stop or limit the flow of water or redirect it elsewhere. It works against the water pressure, which unfolds the barrier and uses the water weight to hold the water back.

Aside from flood protection, the Water-Gate could also be used for urban stormwater deviation, hazmat/oil spill response, temporary cofferdams and water supply for firefighters — with its lightweight design allowing for timely intervention in remote or hard‑to‑access environments.

According to MegaSecur, the dam also requires very little manpower for deployment and its lifespan is between 20 and 25 years.

Compared to other competing products, the Water-Gate barrier offers ease of use in terms of deployment, uninstallation and handling stages, thus saving time and money.

As of October 2020, over 55 km of MegaSecur’s water barriers have been deployed in around 30 countries — including Canada, the United States, France, Chile, Australia, Japan, Belgium, Thailand, Malaysia, Turkey, Singapore and others.

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While major problems such as burst pipes are revealed by pressure changes, volume fluctuations or water simply bubbling to the surface — small leaks often go undetected for years.

The technology, developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo in collaboration with industry partners, has the potential to detect even small leaks in pipes. By combining sophisticated signal processing techniques and AI software, it can distinguish between a fully sealed pipe and one that is leaking even a small amount of water.

The acoustic signatures are recorded by hydrophone sensors that can be easily and inexpensively installed in existing fire hydrants without excavation or taking them out of service.

“This would allow cities to use their resources for maintenance and repairs much more effectively,” said lead researcher Roya Cody, a civil engineering PhD candidate at Waterloo. “They could be more proactive as opposed to reactive.”

It is estimated that municipal water systems in Canada lose an average of over 13% of their clean water between treatment and delivery due to leaks, bursts and other issues. Countries with older infrastructure have even higher loss rates, so yes — this sort of technology has real-world use cases both in the developed and developing world.

Cody added that by catching small leaks early, cities can prevent costly, destructive bursts later on.

Researchers have started field testing the hydrant sensors after reliably detecting leaks as small as 17 liters a minute in the lab. They are also working on ways to pinpoint the location of leaks, which would allow municipalities to identify, prioritize and carry out repairs.

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