Camp Liberty Water Facility Keeps Troops Hydrated

By Pfc. Samantha Schutz, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service

March 13, 2008 - As the desert weather heats up, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers will need to keep drinking plenty of water to avoid dehydration. The Camp Liberty Oasis International Waters water treatment facility has been working 24 hours a day since the summer of 2005 to provide a continuous flow of purified bottled water to the thirsty troops. The facility produces 420,000 bottles of water each day, said Bruce Everson, a native of Townsville, Queensland, Australia, general manager of Camp Liberty's site.

Before the liquid is allowed to leave the plant, it must pass through a rigorous process to ensure it meets federal and military standards.

"Our water is probably more processed than (brand-name bottled waters in the United States) because of the military's standard," Everson said.

The process of making water from Camp Liberty's Z Lake consists of many precise steps.

First, the water is pumped into a machine in the facility, where it is treated with chlorine to kill any living organisms. Then it undergoes reverse osmosis, a process that uses pressure to separate out impurities.

The water also passes through a carbon filter, which uses carbon particles with a positive charge to pull negatively charged, impure particles from the water, then through an ultraviolet light filter, which works to disable the reproductive processes of any remaining microscopic organisms.

Finally, the water is moved to a sterilized contact tank and infused with ozone, which removes anything that may have survived the previous filters and also removes any odors. The ozone dissipates into the water after two to four hours, leaving behind nothing but pure drinking water.

The water is tested every two hours throughout the process to keep its pH levels -- a measure of how acidic or alkaline a liquid is -- balanced, Everson said.

The 1-liter bottles used to contain the water also are made within the facility. Tiny beads of plastic resin are inserted into one of two special machines, where they are melted and blown into a bottle. Combined, the two machines have produced nearly 250 million bottles since the facility began production in May 2005, Everson said.

After the bottles are filled and sealed, a laser inscribes the water's date of production and the code for which water purification system produced it. The code on the bottle is a way for the company's quality assurance department to track complaints, although most people have only good things to say about the product, Everson said.

"Nothing gets released until it meets all the standards," he added. "Our water is quality; I have no worries about that."

Army Cpl. Luis Perez, a native of Bronx, N.Y., said the bottled water he drank during a previous deployment was stale-tasting. "(Oasis bottled water) is a lot better than it was before; it's new and fresh," he said.

Perez is an automated logistical specialist with 62nd Quartermaster Company, 68th Combat Service Support Battalion, which supports 4th Infantry Division and Multinational Division Baghdad. His job at the Oasis facility is to coordinate with military and civilian representatives to arrange for water to be transported wherever it's needed.

Currently, 181 customers have accounts with the facility. About 500 palettes of water leave the facility for destinations all across the division's area of operations, Perez said, adding that about half of the water stays around the Camp Victory complex.
If the unit doesn't have its own truck to transport the heavy palettes, the 68th CSB provides transportation. Trucks come in and out of the facility 24 hours a day to pick up fresh water for troops at Camp Taji, Camp Rustamiyah and other locations in the area, Perez said.

(Army Pfc. Samantha Schutz serves with the Multinational Division Baghdad Public Affairs Office.)

Iraqis, Coalition Forces Work Together to Solve Water Issues

American Forces Press Service

Oct. 26, 2007 - Getting potable drinking water to residents of the New Baghdad district of the Iraqi capital was the focus of a meeting here Oct. 22. Community leaders joined soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, to try to hammer out solutions. The main problem cited was improper connections to the water supply, which leads to water line leaks and breaks, low water pressure and disease.

Army 1st Lt. Joseph Gray of Rochester, N.H., a member of 2nd IBCT's embedded provincial reconstruction team, stressed to attendees the meeting was "primarily to identify issues and come back with solutions."

"Solutions are not about pointing out who is at fault," he said. "Nothing has been done to this point, and we are concerned with fixing the problems."

Mohammed Hader, the District Advisory Council vice president for the area, said tapping into water lines was done mainly by squatters, and that it was causing environmental problems. He added that these issues have been raised before, but nothing has changed.

That led to a discussion about how this time could be different. Possible solutions aired included municipal water delivery, solar-powered filtration systems, personal filtration units, repairing and replacing broken lines and building a water-bottling plant.

Other issues raised were a lack of spare parts and a shortage of maintenance personnel. An inadequate water distribution network also was discussed.

Officials said coalition forces have spent almost $13 million this year getting potable water to New Baghdad district residents, and that possible solutions like those aired at the meeting can further the coalition and Iraqi goal of getting clean drinking water to the people.

(From a Multinational Division Baghdad news release.)

U.S. Military Engineers Improve Iraqi Water, Sewer Services

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

June 4, 2007 – U.S. military engineers have completed nearly 300 major water and sewage projects in Baghdad and across Iraq in the past few years, U.S. military officers reported. "We're proud that we're continuing to reach our target of providing over 1 million cubic meters of potable water per day," said Air Force Col. Lonnie Baker, water sector director for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Gulf Region Division in Iraq. Baker is nearing the end of a six-month tour in Iraq and spoke to the media during a Baghdad news conference June 2.

Key Iraqi water-treatment facilities are now up and running in Irbil, Nasiriyah and Sadr City, as well as in numerous rural-areas, Baker said. About 290 water-treatment projects in Iraq have been completed out of a planned 400-plus, he added.

The U.S. government has provided more than $2 billion toward refurbishment of Iraq's water- and sewage-treatment infrastructure. There're still 100 or so water projects left to complete, including well-drilling projects, pumping stations, pipelines and storage tanks, Baker said.

"While our large projects are certainly important, I want to emphasis that our smaller projects are equally important," he said. "There are over 70 small rural water projects that are important to those outlying communities."

Sustaining newly built or rehabilitated Iraqi water and sewage facilities is just as important as providing them, Baker said, noting it is "key to the successful operation of these facilities and continuing essential services to the people of Iraq."

Iraqi managers and operators at more than 140 water and sewage facilities are slated to receive support and operations and maintenance training so that those facilities can become self-sustaining, Baker said.

"Investments in human capital have untold benefits because people pass on their knowledge not only to their co-workers but (also) to their families," Baker said. "And, we believe that investment in one person can have multiple effects, effects that will last for generations in this country."

Iraqi public works ministries have proved to be capable and professional partners in improving the country's water- and sewage-treatment infrastructure, he said.

"We look forward to continuing our great relationship with all the agencies, particularly the Iraqi people, in rebuilding the public works and water infrastructure in this great country," Baker said.

Army civil affairs engineer Lt. Col. Otto Busher accompanied Baker at the news conference. Busher arrived in Iraq in September 2004 and has been working with the Baghdad Provincial Reconstruction Team since March 2006.

"With our infrastructure team, we work on increasing the capability of both the water and sewer system" in Baghdad and its environs, Busher explained.

In the past three years Busher's team has worked diligently to complete important water projects across Baghdad, he said, to include rehabilitation of Sadr City's water-distribution system and upgrading Baghdad's water-treatment plants.

"We've been very successful in the last 14 months working with the provincial council to get potable water and sewer projects going in the city," Busher said, as well as completing smaller water projects at local schools and medical clinics.

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