New aircraft washing facility to be completed this summer

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jeremy McGuffin
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AB, Japan --  Concerns of Okinawan residents living on the north side of Kadena Air Base will get a little relief as the aircraft wash rack, which has been in place since 1996, will get a new home in July.

Base officials took action after local residents living near the current wash rack raised concerns about water splashing over the fence line on to local houses and businesses.

"We were informed of the problem with the washer from the local mayors office," said Mr. Steven Fazzini 18th Civil Engineer Squadron program manager. "Since then we have been working toward finding a new spot that could not only house the facility, but be easily accessible and have little to no impact to the local communities."

The current "bird bath" is approximately 100 feet from the base perimeter, while the new facility will be 1,700 feet from the closest point of the fence line. This will all but eliminate any overspray of water on to local houses and businesses, while at the same time streamline the movement of larger aircraft on the runway.

As a temporary fix to the concerns, a rule was implemented that the facility could only be used on days the wind was not blowing a certain direction; this hindered the 18th Operations Group because they didn't have unrestricted access for their aircraft.

"We looked at every possible place to put this facility," said Mr. Fazzini. "We sat down with ops group, maintenance group, and anyone else that would be effected by this facility on base."

Together base officials decided that out of all the possible locations, an area near the center of the flight line, at aircraft parking spot lima, is the one that made the most sense.

"Once the organizations on base were able to agree on a spot," said Mr. Fazzini, "we sent up the proposal to the United States Forces Japan, allowing them to talk to the Government of Japan. They needed to get the funding for the project and the approval from the local community."

The Japanese government is funding the entire construction and has contracted out builders to come on base to complete the project. The construction will be in phases and is currently projected to be completed sometime this summer.

"Our role in 18th CES is to oversee the building, conduct safety inspections, and facilitate base access to the contractors," said Mr. Fazzini. "The building of this bird bath and the new fighter aircraft bird bath away from the outside of the base will minimize smog, noise, and water impact on residents."

A new well was also drilled for the water of the new facility so as not to use the base's drinking water.

"The new wash facility will use the same type setup as the current bird bath," he said. "This helps save money, almost all the water is recovered and reused, so essentially we get a lifetime of use out of this project."

"This is a definite win-win situation for everyone involved," he said.