Showers and laundry were off-limits for about a day and a half for about 3,500 U.S. and South Korean troops and personnel at Kunsan Air Base after a faulty valve limited how much water was available there.
In a Thursday email, Capt. Kaylee Ausbun, spokeswoman for the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan, said the water shortage started Wednesday when Typhoon Chaba clogged a water source with sediment and debris for the base. Kunsan switched to another water source while it tried to clean out that clog, but after the switch was made, officials found a valve allowing water to flow onto the base wasn't working.
As a result, Kunsan had to rely on water reserves that were already stored on-base until a steady source of water became available, Ausbun said.
"With the amount of mixed-up sediment and debris on our filters, we were replacing them every 30 minutes," Senior Master Sgt. James Onder, infrastructure superintendent for the 8th Civil Engineer Squadron at Kunsan, said in a Friday release. "As soon as we saw that the valve was faulty, we knew we had to act quickly because we were limited to the water we had stored in the towers."
Kunsan asked all residents, employees and troops to temporarily limit their water usage by not showering or doing laundry, and only using water for drinking and hygiene purposes like brushing their teeth and shaving. The base brought in portable toilets and water buffaloes, or portable trailers with drinking water. The base also began making plans to hand out bottled water and hand sanitizer if water could not be quickly restored.
"Asking our maintainers, defenders and other airmen who just finished a 12-hour shift wearing additional protective equipment to not shower was not an easy decision to make," 8th CES commander Lt. Col. Patrick Kolesiak said in the release. "However, it was necessary to conserve the water we had on hand until a permanent fix was in place."
Ausbun said full water capabilities were restored in fewer than 37 hours.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
