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CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq (March 13, 2008) - As the desert weather
heats up, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers will need to keep
drinking plenty of water to avoid dehydration. The Camp Liberty
Oasis International Waters water treatment facility has been
working 24 hours a day since the summer of 2005 to provide a
continuous flow of purified bottled water to the thirsty
troops.
The facility produces 420,000 bottles of water each day, said
Bruce Everson, a native of Townsville, Queensland, Australia,
general manager of Camp Liberty's site.
Before the liquid is allowed to leave the plant, it must pass
through a rigorous process to ensure it meets federal and military
standards.
"Our water is probably more processed than (brand-name bottled
waters in the United States) because of the military's standard,"
Everson said.
The process of making water from Camp Liberty's Z Lake consists
of many precise steps.
First, the water is pumped into a machine in the facility, where
it is treated with chlorine to kill any living organisms. Then it
undergoes reverse osmosis, a process that uses pressure to separate
out impurities.
The water also passes through a carbon filter, which uses carbon
particles with a positive charge to pull negatively charged, impure
particles from the water, then through an ultraviolet light filter,
which works to disable the reproductive processes of any remaining
microscopic organisms.
Finally, the water is moved to a sterilized contact tank and
infused with ozone, which removes anything that may have survived
the previous filters and also removes any odors. The ozone
dissipates into the water after two to four hours, leaving behind
nothing but pure drinking water.
The water is tested every two hours throughout the process to
keep its pH levels -- a measure of how acidic or alkaline a liquid
is -- balanced, Everson said.
The 1-liter bottles used to contain the water also are made
within the facility. Tiny beads of plastic resin are inserted into
one of two special machines, where they are melted and blown into a
bottle. Combined, the two machines have produced nearly 250 million
bottles since the facility began production in May 2005, Everson
said.
After the bottles are filled and sealed, a laser inscribes the
water's date of production and the code for which water
purification system produced it. The code on the bottle is a way
for the company's quality assurance department to track complaints,
although most people have only good things to say about the
product, Everson said.
"Nothing gets released until it meets all the standards," he
added. "Our water is quality; I have no worries about that."
Army Cpl. Luis Perez, a native of Bronx, N.Y., said the bottled
water he drank during a previous deployment was stale-tasting.
"(Oasis bottled water) is a lot better than it was before; it's new
and fresh," he said.
Perez is an automated logistical specialist with 62nd
Quartermaster Company, 68th Combat Service Support Battalion, which
supports 4th Infantry Division and Multinational Division Baghdad.
His job at the Oasis facility is to coordinate with military and
civilian representatives to arrange for water to be transported
wherever it's needed.
Currently, 181 customers have accounts with the facility. About
500 palettes of water leave the facility for destinations all
across the division's area of operations, Perez said, adding that
about half of the water stays around the Camp Victory complex.
If the unit doesn't have its own truck to transport the heavy
palettes, the 68th CSB provides transportation. Trucks come in and
out of the facility 24 hours a day to pick up fresh water for
troops at Camp Taji, Camp Rustamiyah and other locations in the
area, Perez said.
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