The reports, issued by the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (WASA), which supplies water to Walter Reed, and the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), the Maryland agency that serves Forest Glen and Glen Haven, said water in each community is treated to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards and ìmeets or surpasses federal Safe Drinking Water Act Standards.î The results mean that residents of living quarters Abrams Hall, Mologne House, Fisher House and Glen Haven all meet government requirements for cleanliness and safety.

Col. Michael Doherty, director of Safety, Health and Environment at WRAMC, said the water quality is very good. WRAMC water is checked by WASA, the EPA, and the Army Corps of Engineers. The water in the Montgomery County locations is checked by WSSC, the EPA and the Maryland Department of the Environment. ìAnd so you have a whole series of regulators that are watching this system,î Doherty said. ìIf they have problems, theyíve (water providers) got to notify those regulators when they have a problem.î

In some cases, Doherty said, ìyouíre testing minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour.î

If there is a problem with drinking water supplies to any WRAMC community, Doherty and his team of environmental specialists notify residents immediately. Two main breaks outside WRAMC in 2007 required bottle water alerts. ìNobody was supposed to drink any water,î Doherty said. ìWe activated the Combined Operation Center (COC) in the hospital.î The COC included members from the preventive medicine department, the hospital and the garrison. WRAMC Announcement e-mails were released. ìAnytime thereís something that can affect our drinking water system, we alert folks.î

Walter Reed campus water comes originally, via WASA, from the Potomac River. WSSC gets Forest Glen and Glen Haven water from the Patuxent River. The two rivers are different kinds of sources, with the Potomac posing a particular challenge, according to Doherty, because of its higher silt levels. ìBecause that river is more susceptible to flooding than the Patuxent. The Patuxent River source supplying the annexes is in a less developed area of the watershed.

The water in both systems goes through a similar process. First, chemicals are mixed with the river water in a mixing basin that force small particles of impurities to combine into larger and larger particles. The water travels to the sedimentation basin, where the particles eventually become so heavy they sink to the bottom. ìThe whole idea is to get these contaminants to settle out,î said John Sodimu, WRAMC water program manager. ìThe heavier the particles weigh, the faster it will go down to the bottom of the tank.î

Any remaining impurities are removed when the water reaches the next stage: filtration.

During filtration, fluoride, lime orthophosphate and chlorine are added. Flourides assist in dental health, chlorine kills bacteria and other infectious organisms. Orthophosphates protect the pipes. ìIf the water is corrosive it will actually corrode out the iron in the pipes, and that iron will deposit somewhere else.î

After filtration, secondary disinfectants are added to kill any remaining contaminants and the water flows into storage reservoirs. From there, it flows into the pipe systems of the main campus and annexes.

Walter Reed is not a public water supplier because WRAMC does not treat its own water. But WRAMC does test the water at its three locations. ìIAP had to request microbiotic testing over the (June 20-22) weekend,î said Julius Mbotiji, WRAMC environmental protection specialist. Work was done on the water pipes in Bldg. 1, so the water was turned off and, after the work was completed, turned on and tested. Test results are available in 24 hours. Tests can determine sufficient chlorine levels in the water immediately.