Three dozen members of the Iowa National Guard have deployed to Fredonia, Kansas to help with flood recovery. Iowa Guard spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Greg Hapgood, says the soldiers are a mission to supply water. Extensive flooding in southeast Kansas flooded the water plant of Fredonia, leaving the town without any water to drink.
Hapgood says the soldiers began producing purified water Friday. The soldiers come from three Iowa units including the 2168th Transportation Company, from Sheldon, and Spencer; the 1133rd Transportation Company, based in Mason City and Fort Dodge; and the 1555th Quartermaster water purification company from Dubuque and Clinton.
The soldiers transported four devices known as "Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Units." Hapgood says each unit produces about 60,000 gallons of water per day, so they’ll make about 240,000 gallons each day. They also took along two 5,000-gallon water tankers to move the water to nearby towns.
Hapgood says Kansas requested the Iowa Guard help under a sharing program. All 50 states are part of the emergency assistance compact that allows them to request help from other state. Hapgood says the Iowa soldiers are expected to be in Kansas for four to six weeks.