• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Hydration not a problem as long as you have ... MWSS-373

USMC News

Story Identification Number: 2003425141614
Story by Staff Sgt. M.T. Mink

CENTRAL IRAQ (April 25, 2003) -- Being in the middle of the Iraqi Desert, water surfaces as a very important commodity. Without water Marines would not be able to perform their mission.

Marine Wing Support Squadron 373's hygiene equipment specialists provide the very much-needed resource not only for drinking, but showers, laundry services, helicopter wash downs and should the need arise, Nuclear, Biological and Chemical decontamination wash downs.

"We were tasked to provide 120,000 gallons of water a day," said Staff Sgt. Emile P. Peterson, 27, staff noncommissioned office-in-charge of a water purification site. "We were tasked and we are providing just that."

The process begins by pumping raw water from a channel that branches off a main river in Iraq. The water is pumped into the large filtration units.

Once there, the water will undergo three different types of filtration before earning the title - product water.

"The initial filter is the multimedia filter that rids the water of the larger particles," said Peterson, a native of Opelousas, La. "The water will pass through the 'culture filter' before reaching the last filter or the 'reverse osmosis filter'."

Through the entire process the water is closely monitored to ensure quality.

"Our water is just as good or better than the bottled water we are getting out here," Peterson said.

All water, from raw to product, is carefully tested to ensure quality through the entire process. The squadron employs the services of Petty Officer 1st Class Michael B. Gutterez, 30, preventive medicine technician.

"Basically I conduct the same tests, my tests are just a little more in depth," the Moreno Valley, Calif., said. "I also test for possible Nuclear, Biological and Chemical contaminants, bacteria and lastly a quality assurance test."

Marines have had no problem ensuring quality.

"We have had our PH levels down to 6.8," Peterson said adding that most of the bottled water in Iraq is between 7 and 7.4.

He also added that most bottled water found in Iraq is at around 150 Total Dissolve Solids.

"Our water has been a lot lower," Peterson said. "We have had our TDS as low as 20 and consistently between 60 and 80 TDS."

The raw water that his crew starts with is rated at around 9,700 TDS. Peterson attributes the low TDS and high quality water to his Marines.

"They are very hard working Marines. When given a mission they not only accomplish the mission but ensure they are producing a high-quality product," said Peterson.

The next time that you are in the middle of the desert during an exercise or operation, remember that, in some instances, that water you are drinking didn't just come out of a tap. There are a lot of man-hours and some hard-working Marines behind it. Drink up.