The Plofsluis consists of five concrete bins with a relatively weak floor that span the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal. The bins could store around 40,000 tonnes of sand, gravel or debris. In wartime, the floor could be blow up, so that its contents would drop into the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal. This would block the canal and prevent the inundation water from flowing out. The lock was designed in such a way that its sides would remain upright after the explosion, so that the floor could be reconstructed and the sluice could be used again. It was never actually used.