By TIM HAECK
KIRO Radio

You've heard of fighting fire with fire. Now, people living in the Green River flood zone are fighting water with water.

Today, the Green River flows harmlessly 100 feet behind Dan Guyll's home, but he's convinced a flood is coming sooner or later. He did some research on options to protect his new home.

"We checked everything, from the products that Boeing uses around their perimeters filled with sand, to sand bags, to port-a-dams that are A-frame with large tarps over it," said Guyll. But he settled on bladders manufactured by a local company that you fill in sections with a garden hose and link with couplings.

"It was the most portable, the most practical, especially for a home owner, and it's lightweight. You can put it up and take it down in minutes," said Guyll.

The bladders made by Clima Cover are approved by the Department of Ecology. When full, they weigh a ton.

"They can form to the earth, so you don't have anything coming through it. If you've taken a water balloon and laid it on the ground, that's basically what they are. They're huge, they're heavy, and once you get them down, they don't move," said Guyll.

Guyll will have 250-feet of bladder barriers, which will cost him about $6,000.

But for Guyll, it's worth the price. "This is our life, like everybody's house."

Clima Cover has sold about a dozen of the water bladder systems in the Green River Valley.

You might also be interested in:

• Bladder photos