March 2008

U.S. Water News Online

WASHINGTON — Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan says "it's outrageous" military contractor KBR tried to deny there was a problem with water supplied to U.S. troops in Iraq.

A report by the Pentagon's internal watchdog, obtained by The Associated Press, says soldiers experienced a variety of illnesses after using discolored, smelly water for personal hygiene and laundry at five U.S. military sites in Iraq.

The report found water quality problems at three sites run by KBR and at two military-operated locations.

The report says it's impossible to link the contaminated water definitively to all the illnesses. But it says KBR's water quality didn't meet standards and the military wasn't doing all the required tests.

Vice President Dick Cheney's old company Halliburton, then KBR's parent, disputed allegations even though they were made by its own employees and documented in company e-mails.
A spokesman for the U.S. Central Command says the military has taken steps to correct the problem.