City of Tampa Sand and Sandbag Policy

The City of Tampa's policy has been to provide sand and sandbags to our citizens to protect property from flooding.  Historically, this service had been provided by our fire stations.  However, City of Tampa fire stations no longer provide this service. During flood emergencies, Fire Rescue personnel will be mitigating life threatening medical emergencies, fire emergencies, evacuations, and assisting with Emergency Management Operations. 

If you need sandbags for additional structural support, every property owner in the City of Tampa is allowed to collect 10 sandbags per storm event from the City at one of the following locations:

• Himes Sports Complex - 4500 S. Himes
• Jackson Heights Playground - 3310 E. Lake Avenue
• Solid Waste - 4010 W. Spruce St.

Alternative to Sandbagging

Additionally, the City has researched other more effective methods to prevent home flooding.

Field studies simulated an attempt to seal the gap between a residential door and its door jamb when exposed to two feet of standing water. The tests compared sandbag performance to a variety of products including:  plastic sheeting, duct tape, various caulking and sealing products, and an expanding urethane foam product used for sealing cracks in walls.

Limited field studies conclude that sandbags provide the least protection from water intrusion while the expanding urethane foam product installed with plastic sheeting on the side facing the water provided the best opportunity to minimize water intrusion for short periods of time.  The City recommends the use of this installation as your first choice for flood protection.  The products needed for this type of installation are available at most hardware stores.