Local Mahmudiyah civic leaders, Sheiks, villagers and Multi-National Division- Baghdad Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 63rd Combined Arms Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division held a ceremony for the installation of two solar-powered water filters at Lutifiyah Nahia, Mahmudiyah Qada Dec. 16.

The $48,000 CERP water filters contract was awarded to the Ard Aleqa Contracting Company of Lutifiyah and will provide the 400 citizens of the community with potable water. Prior to the water filters this rural community did not have access to clean potable water and had no access to centrally distributed water.

“The people here get very little water, so it is good that we will be able to have clean water finally,” said Tah Hassim Fadha the Chaka 1 Leader, the equivalent of a town mayor.

Leaders from 1st Battalion, 63rd Combined Arms Battalion worked in partnership with the local government determine the best sites for the two water filters. One filter was placed near an Iraqi Army checkpoint in a rural area of with a population of 200. The other filter was located in another rural area, also with a population of 200.

The local sheik, Sheik Adnon Radhy, told the crowd he was pleased the community would now have access to clean water. After his speech the large crowd waited to taste the fresh water. One Iraqi was overheard saying that the people were so used to dirty water, that the clean water tastes bad and unfamiliar to the laughs of his fellow villagers.

“The rural areas are the heart of Mahmudiyah Qada and they are often overlooked by both the GoI and CF. It is great to be able to get out to these isolated communities and make a difference,” said 1st Lt. Robert Bowe, the civil military affairs officer for 1-63 CAB.

MNF-I