Repurpose floodwater to protect and sustain communities

This case study is part of the “Climate Resilience Awards for Business” an initiative by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in partnership with the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP), which celebrate businesses driving innovative and scalable solutions to strengthen climate resilience across operations, supply chains, and communities. Learn more here

SLAMDAM operates at the forefront of climate risk. Floods and droughts are becoming increasingly severe and frequent across the regions in which the organisation works, damaging communities, farms, infrastructure, and the environment. Its deployments across four continents have been repeatedly exposed to various types of floods and prolonged dry spells. These events disrupt operations, increase costs, and directly endanger the vulnerable communities and institutions it serves.

For surrounding communities, climate extremes lead to loss of harvests, contaminated drinking water, and damaged homes. Without accessible protection, local economies remain highly vulnerable. These risks are central to SLAMDAM’s mission and business model: demand for resilient, fast-deployable flood and drought solutions is rising, and the organisation’s credibility depends on reducing losses for its partners.

This exposure drives SLAMDAM to develop SLAMDAM SMART mobile flood barriers with integrated AI-driven IT tools, turning hazards into opportunities for water storage, irrigation, and long-term resilience.

Location of the initiative (region, country, city): The Netherlands, Montfoort

Modular, reusable barriers that protect against floods and store water vapor-tight for irrigation/drinking, shifting response from defense to productive reuse.

Key actions (evidence of traction)

• Deployed worldwide: Pakistan (World Bank/ADPC), Netherlands (urban & armed forces), Fiji, Uganda (Adaptation Fund), Iceland (harbor); independent community deployment in Burundi

• Awards & recognition: Most effective flood solution (NL), Climate Innovation Challenge (South Asia), International Korea Water Week winner, UN selection from 200 candidates to scale a project

• Scale-up pipelines: All projects are being scaled up, including a planned project in Burundi worth USD 5M financed by the Adaptation Fund

• Measured outcomes: In Burundi, flood protection + stored water enabled farmers to double agricultural production in 2022. In Kenya hundreds of people protected during the floods in 2024, after which the floodwater was used for tree planting and agriculture

Innovative aspects (why it stands out)

• Dual-purpose design: One asset for flood protection + drought water supply; 40+ year lifespan and vapor-tight storage

• SMART integration: Hydrodynamic modelling, GIS and AI-assisted early-warning & deployment optimization

• Rapid, inclusive deployment: Modular units (5 m), no heavy machinery required; trainable for community teams (incl. women) to deploy within hours; reusable across sites

Sustainability impact

Climate

SLAMDAM: Reducing GHG Emissions and Building Climate Resilience

SLAMDAM’s initiatives directly target Scope 3, Category 2 (Capital Goods) emissions by promoting a circular economy approach through its reusable and long-lifespan mobile flood barriers. These modular units are engineered for durability and reusability across multiple sites for over 40 years, significantly reducing the demand for single-use, carbon-intensive flood protection methods and their associated waste. This extended lifecycle and reusability underpin a substantial enabling GHG impact.

By protecting communities and agricultural land from flood damage, and by providing a reliable source of water for irrigation during droughts, SLAMDAM indirectly reduces emissions associated with disaster recovery, reconstruction, and water transportation. For instance, increased local food production, as observed in Burundi where agricultural output doubled in protected areas in 2022, directly lowers emissions from long-distance food supply chains. In Kenya (2024), the protection of critical infrastructure and subsequent reuse of floodwater for tree planting and agriculture avoids the GHG emissions that would arise from rebuilding damaged infrastructure and transporting water for irrigation and reforestation. While a direct percentage GHG reduction is difficult to quantify due to this enabling nature, SLAMDAM serves as an important enabler for communities to avoid significant GHG-intensive activities related to disaster response and recovery, thereby developing robust climate resilience.

Nature

Enhancing Nature and Biodiversity Through Sustainable Water Management

SLAMDAM creates a significant positive impact on nature and biodiversity by mitigating the destructive effects of floods and droughts, thereby contributing to sustainable water management. By controlling floodwaters, our flood defense technology reduces soil erosion, protects natural habitats, and prevents ecosystem contamination from damaged infrastructure and debris. The system's unique ability to store water vapor-tight for later irrigation supports biodiversity by sustaining vegetation during dry spells, which in turn provides habitat and food for local wildlife. For example, in Kenya, the repurposed floodwater used for tree planting and agriculture directly contributed to ecosystem restoration and enhanced local biodiversity.

The modular, temporary nature of SLAMDAM mobile flood barriers minimizes their physical footprint, avoiding permanent alteration of natural landscapes or sensitive habitats. Site screening and buffer zones are diligently implemented to prevent disturbance to habitats or heritage areas, ensuring environmentally responsible deployment. Furthermore, by reducing reliance on groundwater extraction during droughts dueour drought mitigation technology and repurposed floodwater, SLAMDAM helps to preserve natural water tables and associated aquatic ecosystems.

Social

Independent monitoring in Burundi confirmed SLAMDAM reduced flood losses and enabled irrigation of 48 hectares in the dry season. Farmers intercropped corn, beans, and vegetables, and household income doubled through year-round harvests. Communities reported improved food security, school attendance, and health spending, clear evidence of resilience built.

In Kenya (Laikipia), over 100 SLAMDAM units were deployed, protecting a water treatment plant, a hotel and 30+ households from recurrent floods. The barriers captured more than 500,000 liters of water, now reused for horticulture, irrigation, and tree planting. These outcomes avoided damage to critical infrastructure while creating new livelihood opportunities.

For SLAMDAM B.V., these results prove SLAMDAM’s dual benefit, reducing immediate flood vulnerability while turning excess water into a productive resource. This strengthens trust with governments, donors, and communities, lowers business risk, and supports scale-up as a transformative resilience solution.

Target: 1 million people supported by 2030.

Progress to date (2025): ~50,000 people across Pakistan, Uganda, Burundi, Fiji, Iceland, and the Netherlands.

Support provided: SLAMDAM SMART Mobile Flood Barriers deliver rapid flood protection and vapor-tight storage of floodwater for later irrigation and drinking. This dual purpose tackles the two major vulnerabilities communities face: flooding (destroying homes, crops, and infrastructure) and drought periods (causing water scarcity and crop failure).

By enabling communities to deploy barriers within hours, SLAMDAM reduces immediate exposure to flood hazards. By repurposing stored floodwater, it helps build long-term adaptive capacity for agriculture and household use. Training local operators, including women and youth, ensures that the barriers are community-owned, reusable, and sustainable.

Business impact

Benefits

Driving Business Growth Through Climate Resilience Solutions

This initiative has significantly enhanced WaveSave's business operations and market position by demonstrating SLAMDAM's dual benefit: reducing immediate flood vulnerability and repurposing excess water for productive resource use. This strengthens trust with governments, donors, and communities, directly leading to lower business risk and supporting the scale-up of SLAMDAM as a transformative climate resilience solution. Our deployments, particularly in developing regions, have opened new markets and developed strong partnerships with local organizations, creating new revenue streams and opportunities for growth in the flood protection market.

The tangible positive impact on livelihoods and infrastructure, as evidenced in Burundi (income doubled in protected areas) and Kenya (infrastructure protected), serves as a powerful testament to our water control solution's effectiveness, attracting further investment and expanding our project pipeline for sustainable flood protection. The ease of deployment (no heavy machinery required, trainable community teams) and modular design also contribute to operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness, making SLAMDAM an attractive and scalable water management solution for diverse clients globally.

Costs

Target: USD 25 million mobilised by 2030.

Progress to date (2025): ~USD 1.3 million secured from multiple donors. This includes USD 150,000 (World Bank/Climate Innovation Challenge), AfDB grants up to USD 500,000, EUR 320,000 from the Government of the Netherlands, and USD 250,000 from the Adaptation Fund. In addition, a USD 5 million Adaptation Fund project has been approved at concept stage. Shortlisted projects AfDB (USD 5.5 million and USD 1 million).

Use of funds: These resources are invested directly in adaptation and resilience through (i) deployment of SLAMDAM mobile flood barriers in Asia and Africa, (ii) training of local communities (including women and youth) to operate and maintain the systems, and (iii) development of SMART IT and AI tools for early warning, optimized deployment, and monitoring. Together, these investments strengthen community capacity to reduce flood losses, secure water for irrigation and drinking, and build long-term climate resilience.

Operating and Maintenance Costs: A key advantage of SLAMDAM’s water control solution is its low operating and maintenance (O&M) cost, making it a highly cost-effective and sustainable flood defense technology. Once deployed and local teams are trained, the day-to-day operational requirements are minimal. The modular units are designed for durability with a 40+ year lifespan and robust reusability, significantly reducing the need for frequent replacements or extensive repairs. Periodic inspections and minor upkeep are typically handled by trained local community teams, further minimizing external labor costs. While some costs may arise for spare parts over decades or for water quality treatment if repurposed for drinking, these are generally low in comparison to the initial investment and the immense value provided in terms of avoided flood damage and water security. This low O&M profile ensures long-term affordability and empowers communities with a truly sustainable drought mitigation and flood protection asset.

Impact beyond sustainability and business

Co-benefits

Community Empowerment and Cultural Preservation with SLAMDAM

SLAMDAM offers significant co-benefits beyond direct business and sustainability impacts, particularly in enhancing equity, culture, and community well-being through comprehensive water management strategies. The community-driven deployment model, which includes training local teams (especially women and youth), creates local ownership and empowers vulnerable populations with new skills and income-generating opportunities. This contributes significantly to gender equity and strengthens social cohesion. By protecting homes, schools, and cultural sites from floods, SLAMDAM helps preserve community heritage and cultural practices that might otherwise be lost to disaster. The improved food security and access to clean water resulting from floodwater repurposing lead to better health outcomes and educational attainment, supporting broader socio-economic development and long-term climate adaptation. The reduction in climate-induced displacement also maintains community structures and reduces psychological stress, building more resilient societies.

Potential side-effects

Mitigating Risks in Sustainable Flood Protection Deployments

WaveSave is committed to proactively addressing potential negative side-effects, trade-offs, or risks associated with SLAMDAM deployments, particularly concerning equity and culture.

• Equity/Elite Capture: The risk of powerful users controlling access to stored water or protected areas is managed through well-establsihed community governance structures. These include at least 40% women representation, transparent tariffs, published usage rules, established grievance channels, and periodical reviews to ensure equitable access and benefits from our flood defense technology.

• Downstream Impacts/Maladaptation: Holding water could potentially reduce flows downstream or encourage settlement in high-risk zones. We mitigate this by conducting thorough hydro-assessments, securing necessary permits, implementing time-bound deployments, adhering to agreed abstraction limits, and integrating with local government Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) plans. We avoid permanent occupancy of floodplains to ensure ecological balance.

• Water Quality & Health: Stored water can be contaminated or create mosquito breeding sites. Our approach includes using vapor-tight/covered storage, ensuring rapid turnover of stored water, conducting regular water testing and treatment before drinking use, and implementing vector control Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to maintain public health.

• Safety During Deployment: Risks such as manual handling injuries, slips/falls, and electrical hazards are addressed through certified training for all operators, provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), implementation of lock-out/tag-out procedures, clear signage, and post-event inspections for all mobile flood barrier deployments.

• Environmental/Cultural Sites: Barriers could disturb sensitive habitats or heritage areas. We minimize this risk through comprehensive site screening/Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMP), establishing buffer zones and no-go areas, and utilizing temporary, modular setups to significantly minimize the environmental footprint.

Typical business profile

Most relevant business profiles:

• Local governments & utilities (LGUs, water boards, public works): protect towns, treatment plants, roads/bridges; emergency management & operations.

• Agri/food value chains (co-ops, estates, aggregators): safeguard fields, packhouses, access roads; keep harvests moving after floods.

• Industrial & logistics hubs (industrial parks, ports, warehouses): business continuity, asset protection, access route resilience.

• Humanitarian & development actors (NGOs, UN, donors): rapid community protection and water capture for recovery.

• Infrastructure owners/contractors: temporary works, site protection during construction in flood-prone areas.

• Insurers/risk advisors: risk reduction for insured assets.

• Business functions: operations, facilities/asset management, risk/BCP, EHS, ESG/CSR.

• Adaptation journey: from early-stage (urgent protection) to advanced (integrating AI planning, water reuse).

• Geography: flood-prone coastal and river basins in Asia, Africa, and small island states, plus high-risk European sites needing fast, modular defenses.

Approach

SLAMDAM can be implemented through a phased, community-driven model. First, a site risk assessment is done with local government and community groups to identify flood-prone areas and storage opportunities. Barriers are then deployed rapidly without heavy machinery. Training ensures women and youth can actively operate and maintain the system.

Different approaches are possible depending on context:

• Emergency protection: pre-positioned barriers deployed ahead of storms to protect towns, farms, or infrastructure.

• Proactive water management: barriers used to channel and store floodwater for irrigation or drinking during dry spells.

• Hybrid deployment: integrating SLAMDAM with AI-supported tools for early warning, optimal placement, and performance monitoring from a central command center.

• This flexibility allows SLAMDAM to serve urban, rural, and humanitarian settings, turning climate hazards into long-term resilience opportunities.

Stakeholders involved

Key stakeholders & how they worked together (Burundi + Kenya projects):

• SLAMDAM B.V. (WaveSave) (project lead): SLAMDAM supply, training, AI/IT decision support, M&E dashboard, safeguards.

• Local governments & utilities (e.g., Local Water utility, Commune authorities): site risk mapping, permits, pre-positioning, activation, O&M.

• Community groups/co-ops (incl. women & youth teams): deployment crews, daily operation, usage rules, grievance/feedback.

• Donors & partners (e.g., AfDB, UNEP/CTCN, Embassy of the Netherlands): funding, oversight, learning agenda, pathways for scale.

• Implementation NGOs/CSOs: community mobilization, inclusion training, field supervision, independent reporting.

• Engineering/academic partners: hydrodynamic/GIS siting, verification of performance.

• Suppliers & logistics providers: local fabrication/assembly, rapid shipping, spares, after-sales.

• Collaboration model: joint site assessment → MoUs with roles/KPIs → operator training & deployment drills → live deployments with AI support → MEL reporting to all parties → adaptive improvements & replication.

Key parameters to consider

• Maturity: SLAMDAM is a commercially available, field-tested solution with deployments in Africa, Asia, Pacific, and Europe. Independent M&E confirms measurable impact (e.g. income doubled in Burundi; infrastructure protected in Kenya).

• Lifetime: Barriers are reusable with a 40+ year lifespan, making them a long-term asset once procured.

• Technical constraints: Requires flat ground preparation and trained teams for deployment, but no heavy machinery; modular units allow flexibility in length and height. Water quality treatment may be required before drinking use.

• Regional specificities: Regulations differ across geographies, and permits or water rights must be secured with local authorities. SLAMDAM aligns its work with national disaster risk-reduction and water policies and integrates its solutions with existing early-warning systems.

• Finance/subsidies: Many communities lack upfront capital, so adoption often depends on donor grants, adaptation finance, or subsidies. SLAMDAM leverages these funds to bridge urgent needs while building a case for future local production to reduce costs and create jobs. The organisation also offers lease structures to lower CAPEX requirements.

Implementation and operations tips

1. Upfront finance & long procurement cycles

   1. Fix: Blend donor grants/subsidies with LGU and private sector co-financing; pre-agree MOUs i.e.PPPs and apply lease structure to reduce CAPEX.

   2. Tip: Ring-fence an O&M reserve from day one; standard BoQ to speed purchasing.

2. Permits, water rights, and policy alignment

   1. Fix: Early joint site screening with LGU/utility; map DRR/water rules.

   2. Tip: Use a 1-page regulatory checklist; secure letters of no-objection pre-season.

3. Community ownership & inclusion

   1. Fix: Create a user committee with ≥40% women; publish tariffs/usage rules; grievance channel.

   2. Tip: Run deployment drills before rainy season; certify local teams (incl. youth).

4. Site prep, logistics & maintenance

   1. Fix: Choose flat, accessible ground; pre-position kits/spares; train a local technician.

   2. Tip: Keep SOPs pictogram-based; stock spare units on site.

5. Performance & reliability

   1. Fix: Use AI/forecast tools for early warning and optimal barrier placement; post-event inspections.

   2. Tip: Simple dashboard tracking: deployments, protected assets/people, water captured.

6. Data/MEL credibility

   1. Fix: Baseline >> midline >> endline (independent when possible).

   2. Tip: Track hectares protected, people protected damage avoided, water reused, income effects. Indicators are sex disaggregated.

7. Long-term success & scale

   1. Fix: Integrate into LGU DRR plans; sign multi-year service/MOU.

   2. Tip: Develop local production/assembly to cut costs, create jobs, and ensure continuity.

Potential risks & how they are addressed:

• Equity/elite capture: Risk that powerful users control access. >> Community governance with ≥40% women, transparent tariffs, published rules, grievance channel, quarterly reviews

• Downstream impacts/maladaptation: Holding water could reduce flows or encourage settlement in high-risk zones. >> Hydro-assessment + permits, time-bound deployments, agreed abstraction limits, and integration with LGU DRR plans; avoid permanent occupancy of floodplains

• Water quality & health: Stored water can be contaminated or create mosquito breeding sites. >> Vapor-tight/covered storage, rapid turnover, water testing & treatment before drinking, vector control SOPs

• Safety during deployment: Manual handling, slip/fall, electrical hazards. >> Certified training, PPE, lock-out/tag-out, clear signage, post-event inspections

• Environmental/cultural sites: Barriers could disturb habitats or heritage areas. >> Site screening/ESMP, buffer zones, and no-go areas; temporary, modular setups minimize footprint

• Data privacy (SMART tools): Misuse of location/household data. >> Consent-based, minimal data, role-based access, encryption

• End-of-life/waste: Materials disposal. >> Take-back/recycling with suppliers; 40+ year lifespan reduces waste