Iowa National Guard soldiers are being deployed to Missouri to help with the flood fight.
Iowa Guard soldiers to help Missourians get clean drinking water
The 45 Iowa Guard soldiers, plus 20 vehicles, are going to east-central Missouri’s High Ridge to help purify water for drinking because residents have lost drinking water service. The water treatment plant that serves about 6500 customers in High Ridge and Murphy was contaminated with flood water.
The Iowa Guard soldiers are taking 15 state-of-the-art water purification units that they call “Hippos”. The units can produce 1500 gallons of portable water per hour.
Flooding in areas of Missouri is worse than it was during the historic flood of 1993.
The Iowa National Guard soldiers who are on their way to Missouri come from units based in Cedar Rapids, Oelwein and at Camp Dodge.
O.Kay Henderson of Radio Iowa contributed to this report.
