Published: October 7, 2024
Bartow, Fla. (Oct. 7, 2024) — Polk County sandbag sites, which are open until 5:30 p.m. today, will be open from 8 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Oct. 8.
Sandbag site locations are:
• Mulberry/South Lakeland – Loyce E. Harpe Park, 500 W. Carter Road, Mulberry
• Lakeland – 8970 N. Campbell Road, Lakeland
• Fort Meade – 1061 NE 9th St., Fort Meade
• Frostproof – 350 County Road 630A, Frostproof
• Auburndale – 1701 Holt Road, Auburndale
• Dundee – 805 Dr. Martin Luther King St. SW, Dundee
• Poinciana Park – 5109 Allegheny Road, Kissimmee 34759
A maximum of 10 prefilled sandbags will be provided to each household address to help prevent water intrusion into the home. You will need to bring a driver’s license to show your local address.
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, dig a small ditch 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.
• 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.
Depending on the size of the barrier, submersible (sump) pumps can be used. The barrier will not completely stop water from entering the protected area; however, by properly placing bags, visqueen and sump pumps, water, in most cases, can be removed quickly.