Filtered water stations installed around Arnold Air Force Base

  • Published
  • By Deidre Moon
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  In an effort to promote healthy lifestyle choices and provide more drinking water sources for employees, the Arnold Air Force Base Civil Engineering group worked with the Test Operations and Sustainment contractor’s potable water team to have filtered water fill stations installed on base.

According to Joshua Cooke, senior utility manager at Arnold, the two groups worked together to identify areas where water fill stations could be installed to supply water to the Arnold Engineering Development Complex workforce at Arnold.

“While filtered water is not an OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Association) requirement, the Air Force agreed to purchase these stations as part of the quality of life program,” Cooke said.

As of Sept. 23, 15 of the 18 filtered water fill stations had been installed by the Base Civil Engineering, or BCE, pipefitters and electricians, with base carpenters and painters providing the finish work. To maintain the filtered water fill stations, preventive maintenance will be scheduled and performed every six months by the Base Civil Engineer pipefitters.

They are located in the following areas: the Propulsion Wind Tunnel Maintenance building, Engine Test Facility Shop, PWT Model Installation Building, von Kármán Facility Compressor building, ETF J1/J2, ETF Air Compressor And Test Building, Electric Fabrication Shop, Aeropropulsion System Test Facility Air Supply Building, Aerodynamic and Propulsion Test Unit Maintenance and Storage Building, Rigger’s Building, J6 Solid Rocket Test Facility Field Office, PWT Plenum Evacuation System Motor Control, ETF Sea Level 2 and 3 Control Building, Test Fuel Farm Support Building, and the Little Tin Building. The three remaining buildings where filtered water fill stations are being installed include the Photo Lab, Secondary Pumping Station, and Model and Machine Shop.

“The team did a great job to expedite the purchase and installation of the water fill stations,” said Ronnie Skipworth, the AEDC Base Operations and Support director. “This project included TOS (Test Operations and Support) Acquisitions, the construction superintendent, BCE planners and schedulers, pipefitters, electricians, carpenters, painters and supervisors all working together to ensure the stations were installed on schedule.”