Photo By Capt. Monika Comeaux | Brig. Gen. Donald M. Campbell Jr., Multi-National Corps-Iraq Chief of Staff and Mr....... read more read more
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq - A 52,000 square-foot bottled water facility officially opened on the Victory Base Complex next to "Z" Lake on May 2, when Brig. Gen. Donald Campbell Jr., Multi-National Corps-Iraq Chief of Staff cut the ribbon.
The facility was built by Al-Morrell Development and is operated by Oasis International Waters, Inc.
This is the second and the largest of six water bottling plants that are to be opened in theater under a 3rd Corps Support Command contract, said Maj. Joe Bondy, the operations OIC of the 18th Corps Support Command falling under the 4th Sustainment Brigade.
The construction started in November. The plant was commissioned in early April. Although the plant didn't initially run at 100 percent capacity, they started shipping the water out on April 12, said Tom Edwards, site manager of Oasis International Waters.
At full capacity, the plant produces 450,000 one-liter bottles a day, which equates to 37,500 cases and 625 pallets of water. A 45-foot trailer, which is usually used to transport the water, holds 22 pallets. Producing the water locally versus shipping it in from Kuwait has several benefits.
"It is going to save lots of money and keep Soldiers off the road," Bondy said.
Keeping the number of trucks delivering water to different bases to a minimum 'translates into lives," said Alan Morrell, the company executive officer of Al-Morrell Development. "That translates into sons and daughters, husbands and wives, mothers and daughters."
Since the 4th SB and its subordinate units are responsible for combat service support in the Multi-National Division-Baghdad area, they will coordinate the amount of water to be produced and distributed, based on the previous weeks statistics.
Because of the high capacity of the plant, excess water can be pushed out to surrounding forward operating bases and even to Camp Taji, Bondy explained. Taji is approximately 15 miles away from the Baghdad International Airport, which can take up to 45 minutes to cover, depending on traffic and road conditions.
Producing one-liter bottles with no labels is a cost-saver. Each bottle has its "born on date" inscribed with laser, and they all bear a small imprint of a palm tree, the trademark of Oasis International Waters.
"They made a good decision going to the one-liter bottle, because Soldiers will drink more water that way," Bondy said. "It is more convenient. . . It is easier to drink a liter of water, [and] it is easier to carry the bottle around."
The point of origin for the water is "Z" Lake located on the Victory Base Complex. By the time the water goes through a multi-step purification process, the final product is comparable with any bottled water produced by well-known water companies.
"In fact, chemically there is no difference between this water and Aquafina," said Kenneth Alferez, a General Electric water engineer who supervised the setting up of the plant. The water is carefully tested along every step, as it makes its way from the lake to the bottle.
First the water is pumped into a storage bag from the lake and it is treated with chlorine to kill the bugs and other living organisms. The pH level (whether water is water neutral, acidic, or alkaline) is lowered to allow the chlorine to work more effectively.
The water then goes through a filtration unit which can filter out particles as small as 1 micron. Most viruses are approximately 2 microns, Alferez explained.
| Date Taken: | 05.19.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 05.19.2006 04:15 |
| Story ID: | 6435 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 423 |
| Downloads: | 100 |
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