Public Works Mutual Aid Positioning Drill

The Village of Wauconda is conducting a public works mutual aid positioning drill with neighboring communities on Thursday, November 20th at 9:00 a.m. The drill will be staged at the Wauconda Park District, located at 600 N. Main Street, and will further the Village's disaster preparedness efforts in anticipation of the rollout of the newly formed Illinois Public Works Mutual Aid Network (IPWMAN). The mutual aid network, similar to those in place for police and fire departments, allows public works organizations, when faced with a natural or man-made disaster that overtax their own available resources, the ability to request assistance from nearby organizations. "No one community can have all the resources necessary to deal with a large scale disaster," stated Village of Wauconda Mayor Salvatore Saccomanno. "It is important for the Village of Wauconda, and all of our neighboring communities, to be prepared to serve our residents - especially in times of a disaster."

Formal mutual aid agreements have not been initiated between public works departments in the past, resulting in challenges such as organizing volunteers and tracking resources. Thursday's drill will address those challenges by allowing participating agencies to practice disaster preparedness before faced with a real emergency. Participants in the drill include: the Lake County Public Works Department, the Villages of Barrington, Island Lake, Lake Villa, Lake Zurich, Libertyville, Lindenhurst, and Mundelein, and the Wauconda Township Highway Department.

Thursday's drill will simulate the Village of Wauconda's call-out to the mutual aid network for resources in the event of a tornado touchdown within the Village limits. In the aftermath of a real tornado, Public Works Departments' responsibilities include clearing and maintaining open roadways to allow for emergency vehicle traffic or evacuation routes, assisting in disaster scene operations or traffic control, and removing and managing debris. During the drill, resources (personnel and equipment) will be received at one designated staging area, organized into 'task forces', deployed to mock situations, and their progress tracked along the way.

Public Works Director David Geary added, "This drill has received unwavering support from all Public Works Directors in Lake County. We appreciate their involvement in all aspects of planning and implementation. The unified plan we have developed will help serve us all during an emergency." Following the completion of the drill, written procedures and lessons learned will be shared with participating agencies to allow all local public works departments to better prepare for future disasters.

For more information:
Contact Tracy Fessler at the Village of Wauconda Public Works Department
at 847-526-9610
 

Mayor Salvatore J. Saccomanno
ssaccomanno@wauconda-il.gov

For more information on the Village Of Wauconda,
please visit www.Wauconda-IL.gov

Village Clerk
Mary Taylor

Trustees
Pat Murphy
Cathy Scott
Mark Knigge
Lincoln Knight
Jean Mayo
Ed Lochmayer