Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany – Ensuring safe, reliable drinking water is critical to protecting Soldier health and maintaining mission readiness at U.S. military facilities worldwide. To support that objective, three researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Environmental Laboratory (EL) recently traveled to a U.S. military base in Germany to evaluate water quality, resilience and treatment needs.
Dr. Edith Martinez-Guerra, Dr. Catherine Thomas and Damarys Acevedo-Acevedo visited USAG Bavaria-Garmisch to begin a project geared toward improving water quality and resilience. The researchers conducted a water assessment to identify optimal sampling locations to evaluate the need to treat for potential microbes that could cause various illnesses through ingestion or contact.
“Current water quality is known to be great,” said Martines-Guerra, a research environmental engineer. “The U.S. chlorinates water, which is not a common practice in Germany. Therefore, we need to identify if chlorination or any other type of disinfection treatment is needed.”
The researchers also met with installation stakeholders to gather information on the project, develop a sampling plan and begin an emergency response plan to strengthen the installation’s readiness and water management practices.
“Our main goal is to sample and analyze the water quality of the supplied water on the base,” said Martinez-Guerra. “The main contaminants we are studying are microbes. Our findings will support other ongoing projects on the base.”
USAG Bavaria-Garmisch is a U.S. Army Garrison location in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, a smaller community within the larger U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria. The agency primarily supports key security and recreational facilities, such as the George C. Marshall Center, the NATO School in Oberammergau and the Armed Forces Recreation Center (Edelweiss Lodge), offering housing, community support and unique access to the Bavarian Alps for military families and personnel.
Stepping in to support the base’s water improvement efforts gave the researchers a sense of pride, both in their research at ERDC and the opportunity to be difference makers.
“It was a rewarding experience to collaborate with the USAG-Bavaria team that shares our commitment to a sustainable, healthy water source for the installation,” said Thomas, a research biologist. “I feel a great sense of purpose in knowing that the work we are doing not only supports the USAG-Bavaria but also benefits surrounding ecosystems and communities.”
The team acknowledged the positive impact that improving the water system could have on improving conditions for Soldiers and the community.
“We are causing a positive impact by enhancing operational readiness and ensuring that water is safe for our Soldiers and other staff working on the site,” said Acevedo-Acevedo, an environmental engineer. “Knowing about this positive impact really shows the importance of our roles supporting Army installations and improving water resilience, which gives me a sense of purpose in the engineering field.”
Preparation to analyze the assessment results will begin once they are final during the sampling season in March. The team also plans to conduct water assessments at infacilities in Poland this year.