Naples Airport Authority Purchases Tiger Dam flood Barrier System

Naples Airport’s operations team has completed training on a new flood barrier system designed to protect the airport’s buildings, vital equipment and technology against future storm surge.

Naples Airport Authority purchased 3,000 feet of sturdy, industrial-grade flexible tubing that – once filled with water, linked together and anchored into place – creates an airtight barrier proven more effective than sandbags at holding back floodwaters. The Tiger Dam system, manufactured by Louisiana-based U.S. Flood Control, provides resiliency for key buildings around the airfield and the airport’s communication systems.

During Hurricane Ian in 2022, portions of the Naples Airport were inundated with storm surge from the Gordon River and Naples Bay, with some facilities “coming within inches” of catastrophic flooding.

“Having seen the water three to five feet throughout the airport really changed our thinking about how we prepare and mitigate our facilities for future events,” said Justin Lobb, deputy director of aviation at Naples Airport.

“We realized we needed to protect our assets more proactively,” added Barry Brown, director of operations and maintenance for Naples Airport. “We looked at a number of different resources that could meet those needs and Tiger Dam really stood out as pretty easy to deploy, a lot less expensive than some of the other systems and it’s pretty intuitive.”

Tiger Dam systems are used nationwide by utility companies, government agencies, hospitals, large businesses and retail centers. Naples Airport purchased enough tubing to protect the North Road Terminal, General Aviation Terminal, Airport Office Building, Facilities Building and Fuel Farm. Each 50-foot tube stands 2 feet tall when filled and holds 1,300 gallons of water, which weighs 10,842 pounds. Naples Airport will use a two-by-one configuration with two tubes on the bottom and one stacked on top, creating a 3.5-foot tall dam.

Naples Airport’s operations team held a training exercise on Aug. 13 that involved filling, stabilizing, anchoring, stacking, draining and packing the flood barriers. The Tiger Dams are stored onsite in a custom trailer and rapidly deployed within hours based on weather forecasters’ predictions for storm surge.

“Tiger Dam is an emergency rapid deployment,” said Cheryl Witmer, sales director for U.S. Flood Control, adding that Tiger Dams essentially fight water with water. “You can put it up very quickly with very few people.”

Naples Airport Authority’s Tiger Dam system cost $259,370 and was paid for using airport funds. Naples Airport, which receives no local taxpayer dollars, is a self-sustaining entity that generates revenue through fuel sales, hangar rentals and other related services.