The City and Borough of Juneau will offer sandbags this weekend for residents affected by August’s record-breaking glacial outburst flood. Every household that flooded is eligible for up to 200 free sandbags provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Bundles of empty bags will be available at the Mendenhall Valley Public Library starting Saturday through Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. People should be prepared to share their contact information and street address when picking them up.
Sand to fill the bags will be provided at Dimond Park and Melvin Park. Emergency Programs Manager Tom Mattice said the city is not providing staff to help people fill and transport sandbags, but they’ve put out a call to several volunteer groups for help.
“You know, 200 sandbags to load them by yourself is a lot of work, so we know everyone is going to need a hand,” he said. “We’re just asking if people have time, stop by, load a sand bag or two and help be a part of the solution.”
Suicide Basin could drain and trigger an outburst flood at any time. Right now, the basin is full enough to trigger a moderate flood, but floods have never happened in the winter months before.
Mattice said sandbagging is an imperfect solution, but placing sandbags in front of low-lying areas can be an effective way to divert some floodwater.
“The idea with the sandbags is you can sandbag around your doors and your openings and your low spots so that it prevents water getting in early on and really helps,” Mattice said. “If there’s a small flood it will be instrumental, if it is a big flood it’s probably not going to do a lot but the more you can slow the water the better off you are.”
Guidance on how to use sandbags can be found on the City’s flood response webpage.
Sandbags degrade over time with exposure to sunlight or moisture. So if you’re picking up sandbags this weekend, Mattice recommends you have a good place to store them until the next flood comes.
This will likely be the only time the city offers sandbags this year, and it could be the last chance to get sand until next spring. Cold temperatures cause sand to freeze up, making it hard to work with. If temperatures drop this weekend, it’s possible that the city will pack up the sand early.