Military Land-Based Water Purification and Distribution Program (Preprint)
Abstract
Potable water is one of the Army's most basic logistics requirements, particularly in arid environments. It directly affects the health and welfare of the individual soldier as well as the combat readiness of committed forces. During World War I, health problems associated with poor drinking water quality prompted the U.S. Army to address the issue of providing potable drinking water to the field. The principal piece of equipment developed was the "Mobile Water Purification Unit" featuring sand filtration and chlorination. During World War II, it became increasingly apparent that this technology was only partially effective in providing potable and uncontaminated water for drinking, washing, culinary, bathing and laundering purposes. Subsequent to World War II, a complete line of water purification equipment, each designed for use on a different type of source water was developed and fielded. During the 1960's, the Army realized that although these units provided potable water, there was, from a logistical and training standpoint, a distinct need for a single water purification unit capable of purifying raw fresh water, seawater and brackish water. In addition, there was now a need to purify water contaminated with nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) warfare agents. Consequently, the Army funded research in reverse osmosis technology which resulted in the development and procurement of two systems, the 600 and 3,000 gallon per hour (GPH) reverse osmosis water purification units (ROWPUs). They were fielded in 1981 and 1989 respectively, and are still used today by the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 04, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA462315
Entities
People
- James S. Dusenbury
Organizations
- Tank-automotive and Armaments Command