Meet The Team

Portadam helped bring the story of a true American tragedy to the big screen at the Deep Water Horizon movie set. Portadam worked with film production crews to replicate the Gulf of Mexico. We built an 8- million-gallon impoundment around a life-size oil rig in a parking lot in New Orleans.

Portadam has been providing custom solutions and expert services for over four decades. Whether it’s diversion cofferdams, flood protection, or impoundment storage. Portadam has the answer to your problem.

Water is the most complex compound in the world. Water presents many variables from location to location. Water has a forever unpredictable changing environment.

One of my favorite projects was in Green River, Wyoming. We installed several dams to facilitate pipeline crossings; one that stood out was Installing a diversion dam in 2 feet of water across the entire 150-foot-wide Green River using two excavators, and a one-inch steel cable stretched across the river between the machines. The chain edge was tied to the cables, and we used the machines to pull the fabric out and drop it. We nervously watched the water almost overtop the 7-foot frames before it flowed down a man-made diversion channel. After the completion of the project, we removed the entire fabric in one piece with 5 feet of head pressure using an excavator & steel cable: A very difficult operation!

With over 40 years of experience working in and around water, we can provide a dedicated workforce to solve all your problems related to marine construction and flooding and any other water-related needs.

Water can find its way anywhere, no matter how much you try to stop it, unless you come to us!

I remember a project in the Mississippi River flood of 2011, a casino in Tunica, Ms. There was a flooding of the Mississippi River valley in the central United States from late April to May 2011 on a scale that was not seen since the floods of 1927. With over 37 years of water expertise, we were brought in to evaluate, protect and resolve the anticipated historical flood possibilities around the premises. Some of the challenges brought forth required our team onsite to provide the customer with quick, effective resolutions and implement them at a moment’s notice, utilizing what materials were available being surrounded by rising flood waters. After the historical river crest, the river receded, and the premises had
been completely protected with minimal damage.

As a company, our combined experience, in-depth analysis of moving water and response time provides top-notch results. Our customers’ needs come first.  Working with water is very complex, it requires skilled training, hydrology knowledge, and construction experience to provide safe, first-rate results. After years of being dedicated to the water industry, putting water and its natural environment is always a top priority.

At Portadam, we aim to always exceed expectations and provide our exceptional high-quality Platinum Portadam Service to all customers. We combine knowledge with innovation, using our technical expertise, problem-solving mindset, and decades of experience. We will find the best environmentally sensitive and safety-oriented solutions for our customers’ water management needs.

A remarkable project I recall working on was a power station intake relocation – Roi-Namur, an island in the north part of the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The setting was very unique, and the work was very challenging. Even though the conditions pushed the Portadam system beyond its limits, the job was completed via a tremendous joint effort of all involved.  Resources were limited to personnel and equipment which was on the island so that everyone -and everything- had to work together toward the same goal. It was very rewarding that my skillset was utilized well beyond the installation of the Portadam system.

Experience. Controlling water is a craft that must be mastered over years of experience. Like a Wayne Gretzky, Salvador Dali or Jimmy Hendrix -it’s that extra ability on top of fundamental knowledge and training that sets us apart from the rest.  Portadam has a long history of succeeding where others have failed; our superior craft utilizing a proven system sets us apart from others who have attempted to work in this field. Nowhere else will you find a team more dedicated to the art of controlling water.

Water is one of the most powerful and erosive forces on earth, capable of destroying any attempt to control it at any moment.  For best and consistent results, it is necessary to work with the water and not against it; use the physical attributes of the body of water and its setting to aid in the diversion. It is important to consider all variables of the project, put together the most robust plan available and get in and out as quickly as possible. Any alteration to its natural disposition is only temporary, and given enough time, water will always triumph.