DOWNEY - The City of Downey hosted another emergency water barrel distribution event last Saturday. The event was staffed by members of the Emergency Preparedness Committee, Downey CERT, the Warren High School Red Cross club and community volunteers.Distribution of the barrels began at 8 a.m. and continued throughout the morning. The event ended when the supply of approximately 800 barrels was exhausted. The barrels were provided by the Downey Coca-Cola facility and staff. The event also featured emergency preparedness information booths. Supply vendors and the American Red Cross were there to assist community members with their efforts to improve their emergency supplies and skills. Most of the volunteers have worked at the water barrel distribution events since September of 2010. Collectively, they have distributed nearly 4,000 barrels utilizing the drive-thru system at Discovery Sports Complex. If the City Hall distributions are included, the barrel program is responsible for distributing close to 5,000 barrels since it started in June of 2010. The community demand for the barrels has not diminished. A large number of people were in line for the barrels when the most recent event started at 8 a.m. However by 9 a.m, the volunteers had caught up with the initial demand for barrels and the wait time for a barrel was mostly eliminated. The storage of an ample supply of fresh water is one of the most important actions community members can take as they prepare for an emergency. Fresh water is almost always in short supply after disasters. Experts recommend each person store a minimum of 3-7 gallons of water for emergency use. Additional water should be stored for pets. Each barrel is cleaned and rinsed by Coca-Cola staff members before delivery to the distribution site by Coca-Cola trucks and drivers. The barrels varied in size from 15-55 gallons. A special instructional label was attached to each barrel. The barrels for this event were delivered by four (4) Coca-Cola tractor-trailer rigs. We estimate over 25 tractor-trailer loads of barrels have been distributed since the program started. Special barrel cap handles, pumps and siphon hoses were sold at the event. The program costs are off-set by the sale of these tools for use with the barrels. For those who find their barrel needs a cap, they may find them at nitro-pak.com, bayteccontainers.com/bungcapcourse.html or at McMaster.com. Questions or comments may be sent to ready@downeyca.org. -Mark Sauter, emergency services manager, city of Downey

********** Published: September 29, 2011 - Volume 10 - Issue 24