Soldiers at the Army’s primary base in South Korea have no running water and won’t have any through the weekend, service officials said on Friday.
Officials said that a mechanical failure left taps dry across Camp Humphreys, 40 miles south of Seoul, but that fixes would be delayed through the weekend due to a Korean holiday. This weekend marks the three-day Chuseok harvest festival, which extends over Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week.
As a result of the holiday, officials said, U.S. troops, families and contractors on base could be without running water until Monday.
A post on the base’s Facebook page said that several services were closed. “All [recreational] facilities, AAFES food services, AAFES Main Exchange, Zoeckler Mini Mall, Troop Mini Mall, Sentry Mini Mall, and 3rd MI Express are suspended,” the post said. “The 24-hour Family Mini Mall remains operational.”
Dining facilities, officials said, remain open.
The base gets approximately 70% of its water from the nearby city of Pyeongtaek, while the remaining 30% is sourced from wells on the base, according to previous reporting by Stars and Stripes.
Camp Humphreys is the largest overseas U.S. military installation, and home to the 2nd Infantry Division. The installation has an on-base population of about 45,000 service members, civilians, contractors, and their families. Many, though not all, soldiers on base are on unaccompanied tours without families.
Army officials have not said how many troops are impacted by the water shortage.
A basewide notification of the water shortage went out across Camp Humphreys on Friday, Sept. 25, at about 8 p.m.
A Camp Humphreys Facebook page has posted updates on the shortage, noting that the issue affects both drinking water and non-potable water used for sanitary purposes.
Drinking water, officials said, was available from nine “water buffalo” portable tanks around the base. Impacted individuals, officials said, will need to bring their own containers to fill.
With most plumbing out of service, officials said portable toilets were located at the commissary, on-base lodgings and the 24-hour family mini mall.
The base is also allegedly actively working on distributing bottled water, as well.
The Army did not immediately respond to questions from Task & Purpose on the water shortage’s direct cause.
