Water world

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Thousands of bottles of water are staged at the Navy Exchange’s water distribution center on the support site in Gricignano. The Navy began giving out free bottled water last week to reduce exposure to possible contamination in off-base homes.


Water world
By Lisa M. Novak, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Wednesday, October 1, 2008

NAPLES, Italy — The Navy handed out more than 74,000 liters of bottled water to military and civilian employees living off base during the first week of the water giveaway.

The Navy started distributing the water Sept. 22 after a health study determined that contaminants in the water of some off-base residences might put servicemembers and U.S. civilians at risk. So far, slightly more than 800 of more than 1,500 eligible households have taken the Navy’s offer of free water.

Each person living off base in the Naples area is entitled to four liters of water per day, and can draw up to a 10-day supply.

The Navy Exchange initially purchased some 155,000 two-liter bottles of water in anticipation of selling it to the Navy once funding for the distribution plan was approved. Navy Exchange officials would not provide a copy of the purchase order showing how much the Navy was charged, but Navy officials said they were authorized to purchase approximately $144,000 worth of water. The money came from the Emergency and Extraordinary Expense funds, approved by Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter last month.

Agencies using EEE funds have broad discretion in how the money is spent, according to federal law. Despite its name, the fund covers a broad range of uses that aren’t necessarily classified as emergencies.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=57800