TenCate wins “dry feet” award

The Rivierenland Water Board, a Dutch entity responsible for dike safety in The Netherlands, teamed with TenCate Geosynthetics to develop a vertical sand-tight geotextile to prevent a specific threat of dike failure, piping. Piping occurs when the water pressure from the higher-water side of the dike seeps through sand to the lower-water (polder) side, creating tubular openings (pipes) that can lead to catastrophic failures. The vertical sand-tight geotextile allows water, but not sand, to pass through to the polder side, leaving the sand trapped under the dike to plug the “pipe.” By combining the geotextile with TenCate GeoDetect® sensors that monitor dike stability, the innovation enhances dike safety in notoriously low-lying areas. The vertical sand-tight geotextile won the Water Innovation Award for 2013 in a category amusingly entitled “Dry Feet.” Read more at TenCate.