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WaveSave has developed SlamDam, a portable rubber dam designed to protect property from rising floodwaters. The device is easy to install; users unfurl it on the ground along a riverbank or shoreline and pump it full of water until it swells into place, reaching heights of up to 1.3 meters. Developed in the Netherlands in 2013, SlamDam has been tested by regional water authorities there and is now deployed in at least a dozen countries across Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia. The company recently demonstrated the product on Governors Island in New York City as part of a competition for urban climate adaptations.

According to one estimate, nearly 2 billion people will be exposed to floods by 2100, an increase of 300 million from 2020. SlamDam is intended to shield farmland, personal property, and critical facilities like hospitals. It is considered cheaper in the short term than permanent solutions like levees and can be stored when not in use. While a single section costs between €1,000 and €3,000 per five meters, the barriers have a lifespan of more than 40 years and can be reused repeatedly.

A key benefit of SlamDam is its ability to store freshwater for later use after a flood. In the rural Mpanda commune in Burundi, farmers who used water stored inside a deployed dam during the 2022 flood season produced more crops and doubled their incomes, according to a UN report. WaveSave aims to lower costs by opening local production facilities in Southeast Asia in early 2027 and East Africa shortly after. The company recently won contracts for four new projects totaling about $5.3 million in Burundi, Djibouti, and Guinea.