Kalamat Village now has fresh drinking water

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Joe Thompson | The new water filtration system in Kalamat Village is designed to purify 1,000 liters of water per hour.  

AL KUT, IRAQ

03.12.2009

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Joe Thompson 

Multi-National Division-Central

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA, Iraq – Residents of Kalamat Village used to travel eight kilometers on dusty dirt roads to fill plastic containers with drinking water in nearby Badra.

Thanks to an Iraqi Commanders Emergency Response Program water filtration project, residents now have clean drinking water at the flick of a switch right in the heart of their village.

"We want to thank coalition forces and the Iraqi company that provided the filtration system," said Jameel Bashar, a Kalamat resident. "Now we can drink really good, clean drinking water."

The project began when a civil affairs team visited the village and asked the sheikh how they could help. That team was replaced by Civil Affairs Team 641, who continued the effort.

"This village needed a lot of help, and the sheikh explained the difficulties of getting drinking water to the village, especially when it rains in the winter which sometimes washes out the road," said Capt. Eric Currence, CAT 641 commander.

To commemorate the completion of the $59,000 project, Currence and Bashar, the sheikh's brother and representative for the village, cut the ribbon on the facility March 9.

"The system filters 1,000 liters per hour," said Ra'ad Anhi, system operator.

"This is just another example of Iraqis helping Iraqis with the coalition's help," said Currence, who is a native of Brooklyn, N.Y.

• Date Taken: 03.12.2009
• Date Posted: 03.12.2009 05:50
• Story ID: 31016
• Location: AL KUT, IQ