SUBJECT: Soto Cano Air Base (SCAB) Water Distribution System (Non-Potable)
1. Purpose. To clarify the SCAB Water Distribution System Requirements and Challenges
2. Facts. a. The Base water supply is provided through primarily four groundwater wells (Wells #2, #5, #7 and #9) that feed six water storage tanks at four locations. Three of these active wells are located on the eastern side of the runaway and two auxiliary wells on the western side of the base. The pump controls are manually operated and are turned on to fill the tanks. The distribution system consists of approximately 113,125 linear feet of mainly polyvinyl chloride (PVC) piping. Smaller pipes with diameters less than 2” are a galvanized steel and PVC. The majority …show more content…
The water distribution system currently supplies water to U.S. forces stationed at Soto Cano, the Honduran forces on the Base, and the support staff and local contractors/vendors. Average water consumption at the Base is approximately 260,000 gallons per day (gpd) with a peak flow of 495,700 gpd observed on August 2008, during a bed-down exercise, PANAMEX. The historic maximum day demand (MDD) is approximately 300,000 gpd.
e. Bottled water is currently provided to all U.S. Forces on the Base as the primary source of drinking water due to water quality concerns (lead and copper) in the distribution system.
f. Unlike a typical municipal water distribution system, the Base does not install and maintain a water meter for each of its users or customers. The Base has a minimal metering program that includes approximately 20 meters throughout the Base. These meters primarily keep record of the flow for individual wells, storage tanks, a few key facilities and users (Honduran Air Force). The Base Operations Services and Support Contractor keeps historical water production data and it is possible to identify the overall amount of water supplied to the system; however, because of the limited amount of individual water meters it is not possible to accurately distinguish between consumed water, leakage, and/or other …show more content…
Quantity: Current wells just meet average daily consumption. Peak consumption requirements draw on the supply tanks and require pumps to run 24 hour/day. Due to the consumption versus production balance, maintenance is currently not fully completed on the wells as they would need to be shut down and the pumps pulled for restorative maintenance. An agreement between the ASA and USACE ERDC, Vicksburg is in place to develop a 5-year plan to get to a potable water system. Well #4 recently failed and caused a minor dip in production. If any other wells fail, the production cannot meet daily demand. A project was funded with IMCOM/DPW funds to drill two wells. Project should around mid August which, if successful, will result in two production wells in late October 2015. Through the agreement with USACE they are also developing a ground water modeling system to determine the regional aquifer capability/capacity for future sustained production. As wells are completed changes to the BOSS contract must be made to accommodate new more robust preventive maintenance requirements and recording techniques to monitor the wells and well levels. Water well capacity and sustainment is a critical aspect to consider for supporting future missions.
b. Quality: Water distribution system is not certified as potable. USACE will assist in developing the model and plan to obtain potable water certification within 5 years. Meanwhile, continued water laboratory sampling and analysis
1. Purpose. To clarify the SCAB Water Distribution System Requirements and Challenges
2. Facts. a. The Base water supply is provided through primarily four groundwater wells (Wells #2, #5, #7 and #9) that feed six water storage tanks at four locations. Three of these active wells are located on the eastern side of the runaway and two auxiliary wells on the western side of the base. The pump controls are manually operated and are turned on to fill the tanks. The distribution system consists of approximately 113,125 linear feet of mainly polyvinyl chloride (PVC) piping. Smaller pipes with diameters less than 2” are a galvanized steel and PVC. The majority …show more content…
The water distribution system currently supplies water to U.S. forces stationed at Soto Cano, the Honduran forces on the Base, and the support staff and local contractors/vendors. Average water consumption at the Base is approximately 260,000 gallons per day (gpd) with a peak flow of 495,700 gpd observed on August 2008, during a bed-down exercise, PANAMEX. The historic maximum day demand (MDD) is approximately 300,000 gpd.
e. Bottled water is currently provided to all U.S. Forces on the Base as the primary source of drinking water due to water quality concerns (lead and copper) in the distribution system.
f. Unlike a typical municipal water distribution system, the Base does not install and maintain a water meter for each of its users or customers. The Base has a minimal metering program that includes approximately 20 meters throughout the Base. These meters primarily keep record of the flow for individual wells, storage tanks, a few key facilities and users (Honduran Air Force). The Base Operations Services and Support Contractor keeps historical water production data and it is possible to identify the overall amount of water supplied to the system; however, because of the limited amount of individual water meters it is not possible to accurately distinguish between consumed water, leakage, and/or other …show more content…
Quantity: Current wells just meet average daily consumption. Peak consumption requirements draw on the supply tanks and require pumps to run 24 hour/day. Due to the consumption versus production balance, maintenance is currently not fully completed on the wells as they would need to be shut down and the pumps pulled for restorative maintenance. An agreement between the ASA and USACE ERDC, Vicksburg is in place to develop a 5-year plan to get to a potable water system. Well #4 recently failed and caused a minor dip in production. If any other wells fail, the production cannot meet daily demand. A project was funded with IMCOM/DPW funds to drill two wells. Project should around mid August which, if successful, will result in two production wells in late October 2015. Through the agreement with USACE they are also developing a ground water modeling system to determine the regional aquifer capability/capacity for future sustained production. As wells are completed changes to the BOSS contract must be made to accommodate new more robust preventive maintenance requirements and recording techniques to monitor the wells and well levels. Water well capacity and sustainment is a critical aspect to consider for supporting future missions.
b. Quality: Water distribution system is not certified as potable. USACE will assist in developing the model and plan to obtain potable water certification within 5 years. Meanwhile, continued water laboratory sampling and analysis