thedrifter
08-30-05, 01:26 PM
September 05, 2005
Potable water that’s portable
New purification units, mobile system will ease Marines’ thirst
By Deborah Funk
Times staff writer
The military is finding new ways to get deployed troops a much-needed commodity: clean drinking water.
Army early-deployment units, such as special-operations troops, will benefit from a new, lighter-weight, highly mobile purification system that converts dirty water to drinking water, even if the water source was contaminated with radiological or biological material, or comes from the salty sea.
The entire water purification system, including a 300-pound generator, hoses and fuel, weighs less than 2,000 pounds when assembled. The entire system can be carried in the back of a Humvee, on a UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter or dropped from a C-130 aircraft, according to its manufacturer, MECO of New Orleans.
The first systems were sent to the Army about three months ago. Two went to the 10th Mountain Division, which took them to the U.S. Central Command area of operations, said Robert Schulkins, acquisition manager for petroleum and water systems in the Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command.
Five units were sent to special-operations forces at Fort Bragg, N.C., in July. Three of those systems will go to Afghanistan and one each will go into Iraq and Egypt, Schulkins said.
The new system allows water capability to be pushed down to the level of company-sized units and below.
“We’ve never had this particular capability,” said Army Lt. Col. Francisco Espaillat, product manager for petroleum and water systems in the Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command.
Espaillat said water purification systems now are designed for battalion level or above and are transported by large trucks.
The Army has committed money to buy as many as 150 of the new lightweight systems; the ultimate objective is to acquire more than twice that, Espaillat said.
Schulkins said the Army will purchase 357 of the systems in the next 12 to 14 months and more will follow.
The system is designed to pump water through a hose from the source to a holding tank. From there, the water travels through an “innovative filtration” system and a second filtration before entering a storage tank, said John Klie, MECO’s government business development manager.
The system purifies 125 gallons of fresh water an hour and 75 gallons of saltwater an hour, according to MECO literature.
“It basically purifies any kind of water,” said George Gsell, MECO president and chief executive officer.
The greatest advantage is ease of mobility. Each module is designed to be lifted by four men, Klie said, and a MECO news release says one person can set it up in 45 minutes.
The Army is also fielding a new tactical water purification system for larger groups, and the Marine Corps is expected to do the same soon.
The new tactical system can handle more than double the workload of the current system, and its “state-of-the-art” filtration system makes it reliable and durable, Espaillat said.
The tactical system will be used for battalion-level units and above, using the same technology as the lightweight purification system, Espaillat said.
Produced by SFA Inc. of Crofton, Md., the system can produce 1,500 gallons of drinking water per hour from rivers and lakes. Drinking water can be produced from normal seawater at a rate of 1,200 gallons an hour.
Three troops can set up the system, which can produce drinking water within two hours of reaching the water source, according to the company’s Web site.
Both the Army and Marine Corps have ordered the systems, although the Marine Corps system is slightly more basic than the Army’s, according to Espaillat and a description on SFA’s Web site at www.sfa.com/DPD/dpd-products-twps.htm. A company official could not be reached for comment.
Both versions can survive in a nuclear-, biological- and chemical-warfare environment, and both can purify water “that has been contaminated with NBC warfare agents,” according to SFA.
Ellie
Potable water that’s portable
New purification units, mobile system will ease Marines’ thirst
By Deborah Funk
Times staff writer
The military is finding new ways to get deployed troops a much-needed commodity: clean drinking water.
Army early-deployment units, such as special-operations troops, will benefit from a new, lighter-weight, highly mobile purification system that converts dirty water to drinking water, even if the water source was contaminated with radiological or biological material, or comes from the salty sea.
The entire water purification system, including a 300-pound generator, hoses and fuel, weighs less than 2,000 pounds when assembled. The entire system can be carried in the back of a Humvee, on a UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter or dropped from a C-130 aircraft, according to its manufacturer, MECO of New Orleans.
The first systems were sent to the Army about three months ago. Two went to the 10th Mountain Division, which took them to the U.S. Central Command area of operations, said Robert Schulkins, acquisition manager for petroleum and water systems in the Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command.
Five units were sent to special-operations forces at Fort Bragg, N.C., in July. Three of those systems will go to Afghanistan and one each will go into Iraq and Egypt, Schulkins said.
The new system allows water capability to be pushed down to the level of company-sized units and below.
“We’ve never had this particular capability,” said Army Lt. Col. Francisco Espaillat, product manager for petroleum and water systems in the Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command.
Espaillat said water purification systems now are designed for battalion level or above and are transported by large trucks.
The Army has committed money to buy as many as 150 of the new lightweight systems; the ultimate objective is to acquire more than twice that, Espaillat said.
Schulkins said the Army will purchase 357 of the systems in the next 12 to 14 months and more will follow.
The system is designed to pump water through a hose from the source to a holding tank. From there, the water travels through an “innovative filtration” system and a second filtration before entering a storage tank, said John Klie, MECO’s government business development manager.
The system purifies 125 gallons of fresh water an hour and 75 gallons of saltwater an hour, according to MECO literature.
“It basically purifies any kind of water,” said George Gsell, MECO president and chief executive officer.
The greatest advantage is ease of mobility. Each module is designed to be lifted by four men, Klie said, and a MECO news release says one person can set it up in 45 minutes.
The Army is also fielding a new tactical water purification system for larger groups, and the Marine Corps is expected to do the same soon.
The new tactical system can handle more than double the workload of the current system, and its “state-of-the-art” filtration system makes it reliable and durable, Espaillat said.
The tactical system will be used for battalion-level units and above, using the same technology as the lightweight purification system, Espaillat said.
Produced by SFA Inc. of Crofton, Md., the system can produce 1,500 gallons of drinking water per hour from rivers and lakes. Drinking water can be produced from normal seawater at a rate of 1,200 gallons an hour.
Three troops can set up the system, which can produce drinking water within two hours of reaching the water source, according to the company’s Web site.
Both the Army and Marine Corps have ordered the systems, although the Marine Corps system is slightly more basic than the Army’s, according to Espaillat and a description on SFA’s Web site at www.sfa.com/DPD/dpd-products-twps.htm. A company official could not be reached for comment.
Both versions can survive in a nuclear-, biological- and chemical-warfare environment, and both can purify water “that has been contaminated with NBC warfare agents,” according to SFA.
Ellie