FORT SILL, Okla. -- Fort Sill's Central Wash Station (CWS) is not your typical car wash. Pumping out an average of 375,000 gallons of water per day requires a well planned operation and the CWS crew is poised for the job.
The Army has unique vehicle cleaning requirements in terms of numbers, types of vehicles, washing time and degree. Humvee and larger off-road tactical vehicles coming out of the field require a lot more cleaning than what is provided by your typical wash bay. "Each of our bays has four 150 psi (pounds per square inch) water cannons to get the bulk of mud off vehicles before they go to the next level of cleaning," said Randy Mize, plant operator.
The CWS has three levels of cleaning for each vehicle: a soak station, a water cannon wash entering and exiting the soak station and a separate small hose area for cleaning in the hard to reach areas. There are two double bays and a single bay. The doubles are for larger tactical vehicles and the smaller is for Humvees.
"We operate all year long and only shut down if the temperature drops below 40 degrees," said Mize.
This wash station was built in 1995 by the Army Corps of Engineers and is maintained by independent contractors. The current company, Professional Contract Services Inc. has had the contract since 2011. Through a series of holding ponds, the CWS incorporates a three-stage filtering system. Each pond maintains a 10 foot deep water level for the recycle process.
"This is a self-contained, closed loop system," said Mize. "We have not taken out or added water to the plant in more than six years."
Considering the amount of water used daily, the plant has paid for itself countless times over in the time it has been in operation. Prior to the construction of the CWS, each motor pool had its own wash station that utilized potable water.
The CWS does not use water from local ponds, creeks or lakes due to the amount of volume it requires on a daily basis. Being self-contained and well-planned makes it unnecessary to pull water from other sources.
"It's tricky, but we keep a balance between the rainy seasons and drought seasons," said Mize. "A half inch of rain can raise my water levels by a foot, so I have to be careful with my water balance."
Cleaning these large vehicles is not a slow process as one might think.
"We can run about 6,000 vehicles through here in a week's time," Mize said.
While units with a few vehicles are welcomed to just show up, larger units coming out of the field are encouraged to schedule a time with the plant operator.
Safety is a must at the CWS and staff have proven to be safety aware at this station.
"Currently we have run for six years with no accidents," said Mize. "I think we are in line for a safety award."
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