Sandbag Machines to Help with Storm Preparation

Polk County's Roads and Drainage maintenance units are now equipped with automatic sandbag machines to assist residents with storm preparation.

The machines will be deployed at each of the six locations throughout the county – Mulberry, Lakeland, Fort Meade, Frostproof, Auburndale and Dundee. The machines will also be used to produce sandbags for a site in Poinciana.

"With the significant need for sandbags during nearly every storm event, it made sense to purchase these for our residents," Roads and Drainage Director Jay Jarvis said. "The machines will help automate and streamline the operation. No longer will anyone need to bring their own shovel and fill their own bags. With the help of our crews, these machines will do it for them."

The addition of the machines will mean a different process for getting bags filled. Now, when someone arrives at one of the units, they will be able to pick up 10 bags, load them in their vehicle and be on their way.

The sandbag sites will only be open at designated times before storm events. Those notifications of openings and operating times will be sent out as a press release and will also be posted on polk-county.net and Polk County Government's Facebook, Twitter and NextDoor accounts.