By Sun Yang and Liu Yaxun

BEIJING, Mar. 3 -- A naval radar brigade under the PLA Eastern Theater Command has successively solved water supply problems for its seven radar companies stationed in mountains and islands through such ways as seawater desalination, accessing to municipal water supply, and installation of water purification systems since last year.

"The purified fresh water is really sweet!" said Master Sergeant Du Congzhi assigned to an island radar station after he took a big sip of water on the early morning of February 21.

Du introduced that, this radar station locates at an island far away from the land. For many years, service members here could only rely on weekly supply ship for drinking water. However, when ships could not reach the island in days of heavy fog or typhoon, the service members had no choice but to rely on rainwater and build the reservoir in the barracks to store rainwater, which barely guarantees the daily water needs of the radar troops.

In the first half of last year, the brigade specially invited local government departments and seawater desalination engineers to conduct field surveys on the island. Through technical engineering verification and seawater data testing, they finally worked out a desalination project construction plan.  

A team of more than 20 people started construction non-stop and completed the desalination project before the Spring Festival this year. The service members of the radar station ended the history of water-drinking dependent on the weather.

 "The newly built seawater desalination system can produce 20 tons of freshwater daily, which fully meets the daily needs of the service members on the island," said a commanding officer of the brigade.

Nowadays, radar troops guarding the island no longer have to worry about drinking water. After completing duty, training, or sports, they can take a hot shower comfortably.

The service members assigned to a mountain radar station of the brigade are also delighted. Being far from the city and troubled with winding, steep and complicated mountain roads, the radar station had not been connected to the municipal water system for a long time.

Since the second half of last year, the brigade coordinated the local water company and other relevant departments to lay a 10-km long tap water pipeline to the troops on the mountain.

"We don't have to worry about water supply anymore!" Sergeant First Class Tan Haijiao couldn't be more pleased when he touched the cool tap water from the faucet on the day the water pipe was connected.