Photo By Cpl. Jo Jones | Filling machines pour water into plastic bottles at the Oasis Water Bottling Plant...... read more read more
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AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq — In the middle of the barren, dry Iraqi desert, sprawling Al Asad Air Base needs a lot of water. Whether it is for drinking, showering, cooking or equipment maintenance, the consumption of water is one of the most pressing concerns for service members and civilian contractors serving at this remote base.
To fulfill this need, the men and women of the Al Asad Base Command Group's Department of Public Works toil tirelessly behind-the-scenes to keep the water flowing.
"The Base Command Group provides support services all across Al Asad, and water is a key support service," said Cmdr. Nicholas Merry, a public works officer with the DPW. "The goal is to make sure water is always there."
Members of the DPW are responsible for water distribution and oversight of contractors who use water for reasons like construction, dust abatement and replenishment of water storage tanks and bladders. They are also in charge of the contractors who operate the Oasis Water Bottling Plant aboard Al Asad.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Timothy Sepula, a hull maintenance technician with the DPW, said the BCG distributes more than 1 million gallons of potable and non-potable water every day. Potable water is that water which is safe for drinking and non-potable water is deemed safe for washing and cleaning.
Each day, water flowing from the Euphrates River and on-base wells is channeled into one of three on-base lakes (Lakes Liberty, Al Asad and Freedom) or is purified at the water bottling plant.
At the base's water treatment facility, the water slated for external use is piped into one of two 800,000-gallon freshwater cisterns on Al Asad where water department personnel treat the water before it is distributed throughout the base for use at wash racks and in shower units.
Water intended for potable use is pumped to a different facility where it is run through a reverse osmosis water purification unit, which Sepula says can produce purified water at a rate of 800 gallons per minute. From the reverse osmosis units, the water is collected into storage bladders and tanks, and then distributed to places like living areas, dining facilities and even other forward operating bases.
Some water goes directly to the Oasis Water Bottling Plant on Al Asad where it goes through a three-step, ultra-filtration process before being treated in a reverse osmosis water purification unit.
Afterward, the water goes through additional filtration processes before filling plastic water bottles that are created in the water bottling plant.
Once filled, automated machines cap and seal the water bottles, which are then put into cases of 12. The cases are palletized and bound with plastic wrap before being delivered to designated points aboard Al Asad and other bases in the Al Anbar province.
Darren Woodruff, a site manager at the plant, who has worked with water purification for 25 years, said safe water is of the utmost importance. Quality assurance managers and staff at the bottling plant, some of whom are former employees of major soft drink companies, test the water every two hours to ensure the levels remain in a safe range. They also use a laboratory to test water samples for contamination.
Merry, a civil engineer who is serving his first deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, said the amount of water available on Al Asad is directly proportional to the amount of water available in the Euphrates River. This means that likely less water will be available in the upcoming summer months as the Euphrates River levels go down.
In efforts to prevent water depletion, the BCG ordered the installation of several new water storage tanks on Al Asad. These tanks provide the base with an additional 5 million gallons of water, something Navy Capt. Timothy McMahon, commanding officer of the BCG, said is important with Iraq's dry climate.
"The storage tanks significantly increase our water storage capacity and allow us to better deal with contingencies around Al Asad and the other outlying FOBs," said McMahon. "The BCG, in coordination with the Marine Expeditionary Force and KBR contractors, made this a priority and it all came together in an expeditious manner."
| Date Taken: | 06.14.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 06.14.2009 08:25 |
| Story ID: | 35031 |
| Location: | AL ASAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 398 |
| Downloads: | 214 |
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