Kent Valley residents have several options to get rid of the small sandbags they might have stacked around their property to protect against Green River flooding.
With winter over, Kent city officials issued a media release March 17 with recommendations about what to do with the sandbags because the bags holding the sand do not last for more than one flood season.
“The best thing people can do is place a plastic covering in a corner of their yard or garage and empty the sand there,” says Greg Reed, city utilities superintendent with the public works department. “If they cover the sand pile with plastic, they’ll have their own personal sandbag filling station for the new sandbags we’ll pass out come fall.”
Other ways to use the leftover sand include to aerate lawns and spread the sand to help improve drainage; fill in low spots in the lawn, cover with grass seed for a green and level lawn; mix with garden or potting soil to promote good drainage for plants and flowers; or use as the base for brick or stone walkway projects.
Residents also can drop off the sandbags at city collection sites from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Saturday in April at the Home Depot, 26120 104th Ave. S.E. or at Grandview Park, 3600 S. 228th St.
For those who need assistance with moving or dumping the sandbags, they can call the Service Clubs volunteer hotline at 206-755-4814 or e-mail kentserviceclubs@yahoo.com.
Kent Sunrise Rotary, Rotary Club of Kent, Kent Meridian Kiwanis Club, Kiwanis Club of Kent, Kent Lions, Soroptimist International of Kent and Quota International of Kent Valley will serve as volunteer coordinators to help residents who are physically unable to move sandbags.
Business owners are not allowed to dump sand at the city collection sites, but they can find additional resources and disposal sites at www.kingcounty.gov/floodplans.
City officials said it is illegal to dump sand in wetlands, rivers, creeks and drains because of the impact on drinking water and damage to fish and wildlife habitat.
The city plans to keep the giant sandbags along the Green River levees in place until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers repairs the leak on the right abutment next to the Howard Hanson Dam.
For more information, call the city public works department at 253-856-5500.
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