DOWNEY - Residents are invited to pick up a free food-grade plastic barrel next week that is ideal for storing emergency water.The giveaway will take place from 9 a.m. to noon Aug. 28 outside City Hall, in the parking lot just west of the Downey Police Department. Residents are asked not to begin lining up earlier than 8:30 a.m. The barrels vary in size from 25-55 gallons. Each barrel will be clean and come with an instruction label with detailed information on how to store water. Additional accessories will be available for sale. Coca-Cola Bottling Company donated the barrels. Experts recommend storing 3-7 gallons of water per person (plus pets) in the event of an emergency when fresh water may be unavailable. The giveaway will conducted in a drive-through format. At a similar giveaway earlier this year, more than 500 barrels were distributed. The giveaway is being organized by the Downey Emergency Preparedness Committee and Downey Community Emergency Response Team. For more information, e-mail ready@downeyca.org.

********** Published: August 19, 2010 - Volume 9 - Issue 18