County Judge Jim Yarbrough joined utility service providers and public works employees this week for a Utility Workshop and Tabletop Exercise. The first event of its kind in Galveston County, the workshop and exercise were designed to help water, wastewater, and public works employees from across the county better prepare for emergencies.
“As you all know, water and wastewater services were not available immediately after Hurricane Ike,” said Judge Yarbrough, who has led Ike recovery efforts valued at more than half a billion dollars for Galveston County since the storm made landfall in September 2008. “The more we can do to help providers harden their systems before the next major hurricane, the faster we can restore public water and wastewater service,” he said. “We want everything back to normal as quickly as possible.”
The utility providers discussed the elements of a good emergency plan, reviewed their hurricane readiness actions, and put their written plans to the test in an afternoon exercise at the Galveston County Emergency Management Facility on FM 646 in League City.
“The only way to improve your plans is to exercise them,” said John Simsen, emergency management coordinator for Galveston County. “Only through exercises can you understand shortfalls and make improvements before the next major incident.”

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