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MAGTF Integration Section |
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2004 Marine Corps Engineer Conference MAGTF Integration Section Homepage Marine Corps Engineer School Homepage Working Groups and Conferences
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On 12 May, 2004 the Marine Corps Engineer School hosted a product demonstration from Hydration Technologies, Inc. Albany Oregon. Demonstrated were there latest products in man pack water purification technology. THIS IS NOT AN ADVERTISEMENT TO PURCHASE THIS PRODUCT. The company was invited to demonstrate their products because they were visiting many Marine units and some are purchasing systems for light units that operate independently and for survival gear. The product can be treated as a consumable and can be easily purchased with unit and exercise funds. As the water providers for the Corps, we thought it important to be familiar with this technology that is readily available to the Operating Forces. The product works by filtration drawing the water across the filter using a sugar based solution. The result is drinkable "sweet" tasting water. Four variations were demonstrated and can be seen in more detail at this website www.hydrationtech.com. Shown were two individual water packs, a Camelback version and a 5 gallon bucket version. All appeared to be durable enough for their intended use. MCES did a Total Dissolved Solvent (TDS) reading from the 600 GPH ROWPU compared to the products demonstrated. The results are as follows: Raw Water (TDS) 1100 ppm ROWPU(TDS) 350 ppm Hydrowell 24 (TDS) 500 ppm (Note) according to USMC standards is drinkable, but w/o sending the evaluations to a chemical lab what the 500 ppm consists of cannot be determined. That number probably also contains the dissolved sugars used during the process. None of the systems demonstrated is effective (quantity of water produced, not quality) in saltwater. The company is developing on a saltwater system. There are clearly military applications for this technology. Examples are independent maneuver light units like recon and snipers, survival kits for pilots or CAX and disaster relief/humanitarian aide. The product offers a lightweight short term solution that could fill a gap in the ability to distribute water during the early stages of disaster relief, Forcible Entry operations, Ship to Objective Maneuver and the transition to sustained operations ashore. It must be stressed that this technology is not a replacement for water supply support. Marine Corps Systems Command has been working the fielding of the Individual Water Purifier (IWP) to meet the needs of Recon units that regularly require this capability. The IWP is a III Block system. Block I is upgradeable and available in the supply system NSN 4610-01-513-8498 at $80.00 each. Blocks II and III are still under development. To learn more see the Letter of Adoption and Procurement and the draft copy of the Individual Water Purifier System (ULSS 000008-15). The highlights of the ULSS 000008-15 can be obtained here. For a picture of the Individual Water Purifier System see pages C-1 through C-5 in the ULSS. For more information about the Hydration Technologies, INC. demonstration contact the MAGTF Utilities AO. |