Photo By Senior Airman Jarrett Smith | U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Lucasz Krawczyk, 374th Civil Engineer Squadron water and...... read more read more
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After just over a year of research, development, and testing, Yokota Airmen operationalized a cost-effective liquid filtration system, referred to as the Mobile Anti-Contaminant filter.
It is a mobile unit designed to mitigate environmental health concerns after liquid spills or hazards occur.
Yokowerx, Yokota’s innovation cell, along with the newly established Futures Office, has led efforts to enhance operational capability and readiness by designing and implementing creative solutions to long-standing problems. One of their latest initiatives focuses on developing solutions for water issues, including the development of a modern water filtration system. Planning began in 2024 when base leadership identified the opportunity to strengthen water resilience through innovative, locally driven approaches.
Design and development of the MAC began in late 2024 and early 2025 in partnership with the 374th Civil Engineer Squadron. The teams outfitted the interior of a repurposed trailer with a custom-built system, recreating commercially vetted and proven technology using locally procured material including sediment, carbon and resin filters.
Experts from the Engineer Research and Development Center of the US Army Corps of Engineers have successfully used the MAC filter technology to remove contaminants from water. The arrangement of filtration vessels and filter media is customizable for the challenge at hand, with the capability to filter chlorine, pesticides, herbicides, lead, dissolved radon, volatile organic compounds, chloramines and some heavy metals. The system can reduce contaminant concentrations in water to environmentally safe levels, eliminating the threat to human health and the environment.
Capt. Margaret Burneske, officer-in-charge of the Futures Office, said Yokota’s culture of innovation enabled the team to create a home-grown solution to a complicated problem.
“This situation got handed to us because it was a unique problem and it’s not something that people have found a good solution for, which is exactly what we’re here for - to find unique solutions to difficult or unique problems,” she said. “I think it says a lot about how important innovation is here in the theater because base leaders have placed enough emphasis on it to make the innovation cell a full-time capability. That enabled us to leverage all the support we’ve received into a tangible solution that benefits everyone on base as well as in the Japanese community.”
Dr. Callie Oldfield, a 374 CES biological scientist with the squadron’s environmental flight, advised on the project from the start. She recalled the initial discussions with the Futures Office that led to its creation and said promising initial results were very gratifying to see.
“When we first pitched this project to the Futures Office, we thought ‘How cool would this be?’ They really took the parts list and ran with it,” she said. “We worked together to come up with the best design to meet our needs, and I definitely enjoyed the teamwork of everyone involved. Now, we’ve proven that the filtration system works, and based on these early results we are confident that we’ll be able to filter contaminated water.”
The trailer can filter water at a rate of seven gallons per minute and cost around $60,000 to build – 82% less than quotes for one-time treatments offered by contractor-based filtration systems.
“A year from brainstorming on a whiteboard to fully operational is quite a success-story. The rapid, low-cost development of the MAC demonstrates Yokota’s commitment to environmental stewardship,” said Col. Richard McElhaney, 374th Airlift Wing and Yokota AB commander. “These Airmen have done exactly what our Air Force asks of them—they didn’t wait for change; they chose to be that catalyst and present an effective solution that can have an impact beyond our fence line.”
| Date Taken: | 08.20.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.20.2025 03:18 |
| Story ID: | 546004 |
| Location: | YOKOTA AIR BASE, TOKYO, JP |
| Web Views: | 36 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Effective, Resourceful: Yokota Airmen develop home-grown water filtration system, by MSgt Nathaniel Allen, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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