GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – While there is no current concern for major storms or flooding around Green Bay, the city is still distributing sandbags to residents who may want them.
“There are 10,000 of them. They are free of charge to residents,” Mayor’s Office Chief of Staff Celestine Jeffreys tells WTAQ News, “Any resident can come and get fifty sandbags at the old Badger Sheet Metal building, which is 420 South Broadway.”
The city reached out to people who were impacted by the East River flooding last year to make sure they had sandbags stockpiled. Now, they’re opening it up to the whole city.
“Folks who were adversely affected by the East River flooding in March 2019 were the first folks to come and get them,” says Public Works Director Steve Grenier, “We’re opening the sandbags up to the rest of the community – it’s fifty per address and you simply have to prove that you live within the City of Green Bay.”
The decision to buy the sandbags from Brown County and make them available was in response to concerns raised by the public over the past few years. The goal is to make accommodations for people to take care of their own property.
“We’re not going to somebody’s house and sandbagging for them, we’re providing means and mechanisms where folks can take measures to protect their own property,” says Grenier.
But fifty sandbags at forty pounds each might not stretch as far as a person might think.
“These are sandbags to help prevent the water from coming into your home, not really to prevent the water from coming onto your property,” Jeffreys points out, “On our Facebook page, we have pictures of how you actually stack them up properly against a window.”
Spring is often a time where water levels tend to rise and flooding is common, but with a slower melt this year – it’s more of a precautionary measure.
“Right now we have nothing that we consider to be an imminent threat,” Grenier says, “Lake levels have remained relatively consistent. Yes, they’re elevated over long-term norms but there’s nothing to indicate that we’re in for a weather pattern that is going to have strong northeasterly winds as a new norm.”
The bags are available for pickup from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. both Thursday and Friday.
