Polk Roads & Drainage Opening Sandbag Fill Sites
Sandbag fill sites will open today for Polk County residents preparing for Tropical Storm Dorian.
A maximum of 10 sandbags will be provided to each household to help prevent water intrusion into the home.
Beginning at 7 a.m. Aug. 28, the following locations will provide sand and sandbags. Please bring your own shovel.
Sandbag fill site locations are:
· 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
All sites will remain open from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday. On Friday, only the Fort Meade and Frostproof sites will remain open. On Monday, only the Mulberry, Lakeland, Auburndale and Dundee sites will be open. However, this could change depending on the storm’s track and intensity.
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:
1. 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 visqueen should be placed in the ditch as a bottom layer.
2. Place the first row of sandbags in ditch, fold visqueen over the top of first row, place a second row of bags on top, fold visqueen back over, place a third row of bags on top, and so on. This creates an “S” pattern with the visqueen.
3. 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, visqueen and sump pumps, water, in most cases, can be removed quickly.
