NEWS BRIEFS: Marines to Deploy New Water Purifiers.

• Author: Mayfield, Mandy

* To quench Marines' thirst, an Ohio-based engineering company is delivering a high-speed water purifier that will not only provide fresh water to troops, but also shrink the Marine Corps' carbon footprint.

Parker Hannifin has delivered 70 of its water purifier systems, the H20 PRO, to the service so far this year to help the military hydrate in austere environments. Just one purifier--which is smaller than many other available reverse-osmosis filtration systems--could replace 107,000 plastic water bottles a month, according to company executives.

"You want to get people out and mobile," said Kelly Sullivan, engineering manager at the water purification branch of the company. "This really lends itself to that because it's a very mobile piece of equipment, whereas the other ones--they're huge."

The unit weighs about 130 pounds and has wheels like a suitcase. It can easily be stored in the back of a truck or aircraft, unlike other systems that are so large they require a separate transport platform, he noted.

Additionally, the company kept ease of use at the forefront of the system, Sullivan said.

"One thing we really strove for with this system in the design was absolute simplicity of operation and simplicity of maintenance," said Andrew McClelland, defense industry market manager at Parker Hannifin.

Marines are often accustomed to drinking from water bottles to hydrate on missions, and it can be difficult for them to trust the efficacy of a...