Water Containment System

Abstract

A temporary dam system for containing a body of water is provided. The temporary dam system is constructed with a number of dam sections. Each dam section has three or more supports and a back brace for supporting a resistant membrane backed by a plate. The supports comprise an end support, a middle support, and a top support in an A-frame structure. A membrane backing plate is attached to the front of the assembled support structure. The overall containment dam system is constructed by connecting dam sections together to form a continuous wall of rigid plates facing a body of water. A flexible liquid-impervious membrane is then placed over the rigid plates to contain the water.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]Not applicable.STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT[0002]Not applicable.REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING[0003]Not applicable.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0004](1) Field of the Invention[0005]This application is directed to field of temporary water containment dams and more particular a portable system that can be assembled into a temporary water containment dam.[0006](2) Description of Related Art[0007]Temporary dams or dikes are often needed to hold back water, whether for emergency flood control, water diversion, repairs to structures normally surround or covered by water such as bridges or banks, construction projects, etc. Conventionally, sandbags and earthen berms or dams are used in these situations to form dikes to contain the water, however, these methods are time consuming and very labor intensive.[0008]U.S. Pat. No. 6,676,333 by Wiseman et al is an attempt to provide a...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0028]An embodiment of the present invention is a supporting structure, a membrane support plate, and a water membrane which contacts the water and contains it. The supporting structure is light weight in design, and alternates in three primary parts: an end support frame and a middle supporting frame. A top supporting frame is also included in many embodiments, but not in all. The design features simplified field erection, light weight transportation, and an efficient design for following a field directed path without the use of surveyors.

[0030]The water containment system is constructed by connecting the support structures, along with the membrane support plates, together to form a lengthwise continuous length so that the membrane support plates form a long continuous supporting wall. A water membrane, i.e. a flexible liquid-impervious membrane, is placed over the water membrane plates extending down to the ground and over the entire front surface of the temporary dam. The water membrane stops the water, and the membrane support plate is held in place by the support structures. The weight of the water on the membrane naturally provides a sealing effect. Thus, the body of water will be readily contained.

Problems solved by technology

Conventionally, sandbags and earthen berms or dams are used in these situations to form dikes to contain the water, however, these methods are time consuming and very labor intensive.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,676,333 by Wiseman et al is an attempt to provide a temporary type of structure, but it lacks practicality due to the frequent support structures, and the membrane used to contain the water is poorly supported.

As a practical matter, it is not very portable or mobile.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,132,140 by Kullberg is another attempt to provide a temporary type of structure, but it also lacks practicality and economy due to the excessive weight / design of the membrane support face, which is very heavy.

Also, the design lacks consideration to ensure that a multi-curve path can be followed.

The design is very heavy, complicated, and the pipe / rod system requires field bending.

Field installation is labor intensive; requiring training and special tools.

The design is complicated and it is questionable that the design would be stable under actual hydrostatic pressure conditions.

The design is very complicated, heavy, and needs soil for weight to stabilize the base.

The system is difficult and unappealing to utilize in the event of a natural disaster where it needs to be installed by a flood.

The design is overly complicated for a temporary dam system requiring an excessive amount of work to fill the various structures with water in place.

Sandbags are a method to build a temporary containment wall or dike, and it is a very labor intensive method.

Additionally, not only is it time consuming to fill and place the sandbags, it takes a lot of labor to deconstruct sandbag walls after they are no longer needed.

In emergency situations, it is often hard to prioritize the labor to deconstruct the sandbag wall after a crisis is over.

In the case of a simple earthen dam, large machinery is often needed to construct it and deconstruct it, and this can be troublesome or even dangerous in the circumstances.

Additionally, earthen dams and sandbags can involve a relatively high environmental impact.

In the case of earthen dams, often the dirt for the dam is taken from the site causing an impact on the surrounding environment and often the earthen dam cannot be completely leveled when it is no longer needed, leaving traces of the dam behind.

These requirements have resulted in previously designed systems being relatively complicated, consisting of numerous heavy braces, overly rigid connection points, fixed designs, and complicated support members.

Especially in the case of lateral support, the previous systems often require quite complex ways of linking the temporary structure to provide lateral support, which often involves numerous braces and lateral support members.

In particular, previous attempts have difficulties with providing light weight designs and simplified adaptability to changes in following a multi-curved path.

Images