After a successful trial in Seven Kings, a groundbreaking flood defense system known as Hydrorock is being rolled out across Redbridge, a borough in the United Kingdom.
The innovative technology is designed to act as healthy soil and soak up and drain excess rainwater during heavy storms, helping protect homes, roads, and local infrastructure from destructive floods.
Acting like a natural sponge, Hydrorock blocks are installed beneath roadways where they connect to street gullies. During storms, they rapidly absorb and hold large volumes of water that would otherwise rush into the sewer system and cause backups. Once the weather clears, the blocks slowly release the stored water back into the drainage network, preventing local flooding and water damage to homes and basements.
This technology tackles a growing challenge as cities expand with concrete and asphalt — less rainwater is able to soak into the ground. The result is overwhelmed sewers, polluted runoff, and increasingly dry, non-absorbent soil. Hydrorock mimics how healthy soil can act as a drain by restoring its natural ability to retain, filter, and reuse water. The result is not only fewer floods, but it's also helpful amid droughts to help rehydrate the soil and funnel water to the root systems of plants and crops that keep the soil cool and healthy.
"Hydrorock is one of a number of measures we're putting in place to help keep local homes, businesses, and communities safe from flooding. With climate change making extreme weather more likely, Redbridge Council is taking a proactive, practical approach to keep our communities safe," said Jo Blackman, cabinet member for environment and sustainability. "The priority is to protect local communities from flooding and build a more flood-resilient borough for the future."
Alongside the Hydrorock rollout, Redbridge's Highways Team is upgrading defective sewers and resurfacing roads with permeable paving to absorb even more rainwater. These sustainable drainage systems, including rain gardens and adapted planters, can now collectively hold over 1.6 million liters of water, or 422,675 gallons, the equivalent of 64,000 five-minute showers, according to the Redbridge Council website.
Beyond protecting homes, the initiative helps residents save money by reducing the costly damage floods often bring, as much as $180 to $500 billion each year in the U.S. By preventing waterlogged roads, damaged property, and insurance claims, the new system could spare communities thousands per incident while extending the lifespan of public infrastructure and improving local soil quality.
Hydrorock is just one technology helping mitigate the effects of increasing extreme weather events; other recent developments include solar-powered disaster relief charging stations, wildfire detection technology, and even flood jacks that lift homes when waters rise.
Other new flood prevention efforts are set to go ahead in surrounding flood-prone areas and school zones. Over the next 10 years, the Redbridge Council will invest over 11 million pounds to help reduce flooding in the borough, in addition to the 2.5 million already spent since 2022.
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