It might sound strange or unbelievable to people without a science background, but for Andrew Masterson and his team at Captain’s Quarters Riverside Grille in the United States, flooding their restaurant with clean water on purpose was the smartest way to protect it. They stopped dirty river water from getting in and damaging the place, and it helped save their business.
When heavy rains caused the Ohio River to rise and floodwaters threatened their restaurant in Kentucky, Andrew Masterson and his team acted fast. Instead of waiting for dirty river water to flood their dining rooms, they took a bold step: they filled the building with clean water first.
Using sinks, faucets, and a well pump, they let in about six feet of fresh water to protect the restaurant from damage.
The idea was to balance the pressure so that the dirty, muddy river water wouldn’t force its way into the restaurant. The method is based on a scientific concept from physics called hydrostatic pressure equilibrium, which is part of fluid mechanics.
In simple terms, when water pushes equally on both sides of something, like a wall or a door, there’s no reason for the water to move. It becomes a kind of standoff, where neither side has more force than the other.
In this case, the restaurant owners filled their building with clean water to match the pressure of the rising river water outside.
Because the pressure was the same inside and outside, the muddy water didn’t enter. It’s a smart way of fighting water with water.
Before filling the building with clean water, the team made sure to disconnect all kitchen equipment and shut down the electrical panels to avoid damage.
It wasn’t an ideal situation; business had to pause, but the move could save them thousands of dollars in cleanup and repairs later.
In a social media video that quickly got people’s attention, Andrew Masterson shared an update, explaining that the water inside had reached about 4 feet deep where he was standing.
In the video, several people can be seen standing in the water inside the restaurant, chatting and appearing calm despite the unusual scene.
“It keeps the muddy water out and makes clean-up much easier,” Masterson explained, indicating the reason behind their bold and creative decision.
The nearly 10-minute video, posted on April 6, 2025, quickly went viral, gaining over 1,600 comments. Many viewers praised the restaurant owners for their smart and unusual strategy.
While some, like Joann Tidwell Pruett and Jan Needy Murphy, were curious and asked, “How does that even work?”, others jumped in to explain.
One commenter, Robin Hudsn Giles, replied, “They turn the faucets on and let the tap water run. This creates ambient pressure inside the restaurant, keeping the river water out.”
The post sparked a mix of amazement and curiosity, with many calling it one of the cleverest flood prevention moves they had seen.
“Love your proactive stance against the floods! We will be coming to dine next time we are near Kentucky. God bless you all,” a reviewer, Kimberly Cones-Fritz, said.
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