BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – Most residents of Bagram Air Field don’t really think about where their water comes from which allows them to cook food or take showers, they just know it’s there.
Well, there are people on BAF who work continuously day and night to make sure the water supply is constant to keep those amenities available.
The individuals at West Water Point provide an important necessity on BAF by providing potable-water to the entire base.
“This facility plays a very critical role because it produces potable water that is used in food preparation and medical procedures,” said Ron Mckinnon, a native of Lake City, Fla., a contracted water manager for BAF. “Without this water those functions would not happen.”
The workers at the facility take pride in their work by ensuring they complete their daily task.
“Our basic responsibility is to make sure that the water is always there, it’s always safe and in a reliable quality,” said Chad Lavender, a native of Houston, a contracted water supply technician.
Because of the geographical location of BAF, water runs down the surrounding mountains ranges and collects into a well located at the site.
The water is then pumped from the well and through a three-phase process, which purifies the water.
“We have a well which is about 200-300 feet which we pump out of and into our first pre-treatment stage which runs through different levels of sand bed,” said Lavender.
The second phase runs the water through an activated charcoal filter, which removes various suspended solids, said Lavender. This process removes many of the impurities that involve taste, odor and color.
In the last phase, water runs through a reverse osmosis membrane, where it removes 98 percent of impurities other than water, said Lavender.
“Once that is done we will disinfect it with chlorine, store it and send it out to the facilities that need it,” said Lavender.
The facility is capable of producing 300,000 gallons a day but they produce only to the demands of BAF, which is around 150,000 to 200,000 gallons of potable water, said Mckinnon.
In total with the non-potable water and the potable water, BAF alone produces more than 1 million gallons a day, said Mckinnon. This is almost half of what is produced in Regional Command-East, RC-North and RC-Kabul.
Not only do they test the water at the facility but they also have to test the water they distribute to other points.
“Every hour we test the water that is being distributed to more than the 250 points on BAF,” said Mckinnon. “We test both the non-potable water and the potable water every day to ensure quality.”
Water is a precious commodity and without water daily task wouldn’t be accomplished and that’s why the individuals at the facility are proud of the work they do.
“We absolutely love our job,” said Lavender. “It’s an absolute honor to be able to work with the military and to be doing a job that has such a direct meaningful capacity.”