Polk Roads & Drainage Opening Sandbag Fill Sites; City of Bartow Opens Sandbag Site
Sandbags will be provided to Polk County residents at all Roads and Drainage maintenance units tomorrow and Saturday in preparation of Tropical Depression Fred.
Bartow residents may also be provided sandbags, which may be picked up at the Firestation now through Friday afternoon. Residents will then be directed to City lots where sandbags may be filled.
The County sites will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
A maximum of 10 sandbags will be provided to each vehicle to help prevent water intrusion into the home. Polk County Roads and Drainage crews will be at the following locations to provide filled sandbags:
- Mulberry – 900 NE 5th St., Mulberry, (863) 519-4734
- Lakeland – 8970 N. Campbell Road, Lakeland (863) 815-6701
- Fort Meade – 1061 NE 9th St., Fort Meade (863) 285-6588
- Frostproof – 350 County Road 630A, Frostproof (863) 635-7879
- Auburndale – 1701 Holt Road, Auburndale (863) 965-5524
- Dundee – 805 Dr. Martin Luther King St. SW, Dundee, (863) 421-3367
- Poinciana – Association of Poinciana Villages (APV) Public Works facility, 2012 Hemlock Ave., Poinciana
Residents living in flood prone areas are encouraged to sandbag their homes. To protect against water damage, follow these simple sandbagging techniques.
At the area where water can enter a structure:
- If not working on concrete, a small ditch should be dug just deep enough to go below ground level. The ditch should be back far enough from the entrance to allow room to place optional submersible (sump) pumps into the protected area. The edge of the plastic sheeting should be placed in the ditch as a bottom layer.
- Place the first row of sandbags in ditch, fold plastic sheeting over the top of first row, place a second row of bags on top, fold plastic sheeting back over, place a third row of bags on top, and so on. This creates an “S” pattern with the plastic sheeting.
- Depending on the size of the barrier, one or more submersible (sump) pumps should be utilized. The barrier will not completely stop water from entering the protected area. However, with the proper placement of bags, plastic sheeting and sump pumps, water, in most cases, can be removed quickly.
