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By Pvt. Christopher McKenna
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division
PATROL BASE CORREGIDOR, Iraq - Soldiers at this outpost, about 21 kilometers southwest of Baghdad, don't depend on water deliveries - they pump their own.
"We pump our water in from a man-made lake located in the rear of our patrol base and filter it," said Spc. J.R. Pardo, water purification specialist with Company A, 626th Brigade Support Battalion.
Deployed Soldiers usually have access to two different types of water - potable and non-potable. The difference between the two is that potable water is safe for drinking, bathing and cooking, whereas non-potable water can be used for other purposes, depending on its quality.
The water is pumped through a Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit. By going though a rigorous chemical balancing and four filtering pumps, the water is prepared and ready to be used.
The process allows Soldiers to produce and use water without fear of depleting their supply. Pardo said nearly 3,000 gallons are saved per day by using ROWPU.
"There are three chemicals used in the ROWPU to make water usable; chlorine, polyelectrolyte and sodium hex," said Pardo, a native of San Jose, Calif. "If we wanted to make the water drinkable, we'd only have to add the chemical polymer, but, with the chemical being hard to come by and a constant supply of bottled water, we don't need to do that."
While the system has obvious benefits, difficulties still arise from time to time with maintenance and repairs for the pump system and plumbing.
"Every now and then something breaks and it needs to be replaced," said Sgt. Robert Matthews, Troop B, 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalary Regiment team leader. "Both the pipes in the shower trailer and the generator for the ROWPU require constant work."
Matthews a native of Joelton, Tenn., who worked as a plumber before joining the Army, tends to the pumps and pipes in the shower trailer on a regular basis. "I don't work on the ROWPU, I just make sure the pipes are pushing running water through."
Pardo is quickly becoming an expert on making sure there is always water to be pumped.
"Sometimes the pumps bust and the circuits break, but its nothing I haven't been able to handle," Pardo said. "In the five months that I have been with the unit the shower trailers have never been down for an extended period."
Pardo said this is the first time in two years that he is doing his designated military occupational specialty. "On my previous deployment they had me going out on convoys, and now, for the past five months, I am doing something I trained specifically to do."
| Date Taken: | 05.30.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 05.30.2008 09:54 |
| Story ID: | 19941 |
| Location: | IQ |
| Web Views: | 315 |
| Downloads: | 240 |
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