ABSTRACT
Drinking water is the only commodity the military produces on the battlefield. The Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps all provide water to troops, but each Service performs the task and delegates the various responsibilities according to its own needs. The National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWR), established by the US Environmental Protection Agency, are based on the assumptions of a 70-year exposure duration and a target population that includes young children, older adults, and sensitive subpopulations. While the NPDWR can be used as a gross screening tool, drinking water health advisories, which address short-term exposures, provide more useful guidance for developing deployment standards relevant to military populations. It must be noted that, irrespective of these short- and long-term standards, the decision to accept a water source for potable use lies with the field commander. A number of different organizations are responsible for monitoring the quality of the drinking water supplied to US personnel and others in the field.
