MCAGCC opens new water treatment facility to support base personnel

Photo By Cpl. Jonathan Willcox | David Massie, lead water treatment plant operator with military construction contractor CDM Smith, gives a tour of the facility during the water treatment facility ribbon cutting ceremony at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC), Twentynine Palms, California, Nov. 08, 2022. The water treatment facility was built by NAVFAC SW, MCAGCC Public Works Division, and military construction contractor CDM Smith to give base personnel a new, independent source of clean water. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jonathan Willcox)  

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA, UNITED STATES

11.08.2022

Story by Cpl. Jonathan Willcox 

Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER, Calif. -- The Combat Center celebrated the opening of a new water treatment facility with a ribbon cutting ceremony at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC), Twentynine Palms, California, Nov. 8, 2022.


Victor Coffield, a civil engineer working in the Public Works Division, Utilities Branch, described how MCAGCC has exclusively used the Surprise Springs aquifer for 70 years. The demand from MCAGCC stressed the aquifer overtime, leading to the selection of the Deadman Aquifer to meet MCAGCC water needs. A new treatment facility was needed to successfully use the source.


In September of 2018, a construction contract was awarded to install a water treatment facility at MCAGCC to provide the base with an independent reliable water source, free of needing to rely on the City of Twentynine Palms.


“The project is increasing water security of the base,” said Coffield.


According to Coffield, the 20,070 square foot facility features state- of–the-art technology including an operations room, a reverse osmosis equipment room, three chemical tank rooms, a laboratory, an electrical room, and maintenance and storage room.


Pipelines bring water into the facility from the aquifers. The facility is capable of producing 2,400 gallons of potable water per minute, and can produce up to 3 million gallons per day.


“The water treatment facility is the answer to the reliable acquisition of clean, renewable water well into the future of MCAGCC,” said Coffield. “The modern equipment will provide an efficient and secure source of water for Marines, Sailors and their families on base.”


Clean potable water increases readiness and the ability to sustain training well into the future at the premier service-level training center in the Marine Corps. The ribbon cutting ceremony marked the beginning of the facility’s official service to the men and women serving on MCAGCC.

• Date Taken: 11.08.2022
• Date Posted: 01.10.2023 16:45
• Story ID: 436300
• Location: TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA, US