Officials Provide Information for Employees Victimized by Flood

Defense Department officials have issued information to assist federal employees and agencies affected by the recent flooding throughout the Midwest and Mississippi River Valley, military officials said.

"Our Defense Department employees are a valued resource and an essential part of our total forces," said Marilee Fitzgerald, principal director of the Office of the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Civilian Personnel Policy. "The department is committed to doing all that we can do to assist our civilian work force during this difficult and challenging time."

Information on flexibilities currently available -- such as family support, telework and emergency hiring -- are on the department's Civilian Personnel Management Service Web site at www.cpms.osd.mil/disasters/. The site also includes a link to an Office of Personnel Management handbook on pay and leave benefits for federal employees affected by severe weather or other emergencies.

The handbook contains information on salary advances to employees ordered to evacuate for safety reasons, excused absence with pay, travel and subsistence payments, and various pay contingencies, officials said.

Families can call the department's emergency employee toll-free phone number, 888-363-4872, to ask questions regarding their employment and to update their employing components of their conditions. Employees also can provide the information by e-mail to disasterresponse@cpms.osd.mil, officials said.

The Defense Department will update and post information regularly to the Civilian Personnel Management Services site to keep its agencies and employees informed, Fitzgerald said.

By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service

Electrical Work Keeps Potable Water Flowing to Baghdad

The Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division is working to ensure Baghdad's water supply with nonstop operations for the Karkh Water Treatment Plant near Taji, northwest of Baghdad.

In a $20 million project, the back-up generator system is being restored to keep potable water flowing to 50 percent of Baghdad residents without interruption or worries over low levels in reservoirs.

The plant pumps an overall daily output of 1.36 million liters through a 2.1-meter-diameter pipe connected to several Baghdad reservoirs and also supplies the immediate communities around Karkh. Power outages at the plant stop the output cycle, and water reserves and resources diminish.

"The electrical power for the plant sometimes is off for three to four hours a day, and that means we cannot contribute water to the reservoirs. That is not a good situation for our customers," reported an Iraqi plant engineer at Karkh.

In 2005, the Karkh plant was heavily damaged by a vehicle bomb. Repair of the key elements for a continuous supply is expected to take until October.

"Good, clean water means a lot for any community, and Baghdad is no exception," said Navy Lt. Cdr. Paul Chan, officer in charge of the Gulf Region Division's central district resident office in Taji. "This is a very significant project in the stabilization of essential services for the entire Baghdad area."

The Corps of Engineers project primarily is for design, supplies, labor and equipment relating to system repairs of the Rolls-Royce Avon 8.5 megawatt generators, which are the backup power source for the plant. The project also will overhaul and replace raw- and treated-water valves to increase both efficiency and capacity of the plant.

Author Kendal Smith is a public affairs officer with the Gulf Region Central District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Iraq.