Summary: Through a combination of host nation water sources and the use of Osmosis water purification equipment, the Army provided troops deployed in Operation Desert Storm with adequate water supplies. The Army did not, however, monitor the actual water production of the water purification equipment or collect and analyze data on the equipment's performance during Operation Desert Storm. Consequently, the Army has no way of knowing how much water the equipment actually supplied or how well it performed. GAO notes that the Army's projections of the equipment's water production relied on several questionable assumptions. Because the Army believed that it had solved the technical problems with the 3,000-gallon-per-hour Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit, it expedited production. It did so even though testing was not completed. The Army plans to complete required testing by September 1991, at which point the contractor will have 42 units ready for delivery. The Army is considering waiving the requirement that the 3,000-gallon-per-hour unit be capable of undergoing nuclear, biological, and chemical decontamination because the system will likely fail to meet this requirement. The Army has no specific plans to compensate for this shortcoming.
