Portable system purifies water on the go.

• Position: LOGISTICS

* Ground troops often are stuck in remote locations where clean water is not readily available, creating a logistics problem for dismounted soldiers and Marines who must carry the water they need for a mission. "It's a problem to transport water. It's risky, and it's expensive."

Water can be $1 5 to $17 a gallon in Afghanistan and Iraq, said Avi Peretz, co-CEO of WaterGen, an Israeli company that creates water filtration and purification systems.

WaterGen's new "Spring" portable water treatment unit is a wearable system that can purify water from any freshwater source. It filters water carried through tubes into the 26-pound tank, which can be carried on a soldier's back. The system can detect water contaminated by microorganisms or pesticides and does not allow it to flow into the reservoir, Peretz said.

The system can filter 14 gallons in an hour, and can create 47 gallons from the power supplied by one standard military deep-cycle battery, he said. "With two batteries, we can hold a platoon or a company for weeks in the field."

In contrast, a standard jerry can only hold about five gallons of water and weighs twice as much as WaterGen's purifier. "When the jerry can is finished, you have no water," Peretz said.

The system recently completed logistics trials with the Israeli army. Other militaries--including the U.S., British and French...