HELOTES, Texas – More than 30 years of experience in wastewater management has led Rodney Madla to this moment.
“My wife and I were just sitting there watching this all unfold and her comments were just straight up, ‘Why?’ And I go, ‘Well, the technology is there,’” Madla said, while seated at the sprawling property that is home to his Helotes Hill Country Ziplines business.
Madla said he went to work.
In what can best be described as a hybrid backflow prevention device, Madla has spent the past few weeks creating an apparatus that uses a float to set off alarms inside and outside of a home.
The float is placed between a dwelling and the river and is connected to an electrical box by a long cable. If the float is lifted off the ground — from a rising water level — the alarm system goes off.
Madla, who asked that we not record the inside of the box containing the electrical elements, called it a simple, cost-effective device that can be produced by his company Safe Level Systems for less than $3,000 per unit.
“All we’re doing is closing circuits. With this system here, there’s no doubt,” Madla said. “You know the water’s already at a dangerous level and you need to evacuate. There’s no guessing at that point.”
During a demonstration of the device, Madla unplugged it and pointed out that a backup battery system will allow it to continue operating another 20 hours if power is lost, a scenario that played out in parts of the Hill Country over the Fourth of July weekend.
As of Thursday, 108 people — 71 adults and 37 children — were killed in Kerr County in connection with the deadly floods.
“We have smoke detectors. We have carbon monoxide detectors in every house. But we don’t have anything to monitor or alert people of water? Something has to be done,” said Madla, who is taking the necessary steps to get a patent for his device.
He said the apparatus is Wi-Fi capable and can send alerts to cellphones and tablets.
Madla recommends that the device be checked annually to make sure it is still operating properly and that the float be kept in a metal mesh housing device.
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