Rapid intervention unit for water abroad
The rapid deployment unit water abroad (SEEWA, English name: Rapid Deployment Unit Water Supply ) of the technical relief organization is a tactical unit for emergency water supply through water treatment ; It can be deployed worldwide with its 162 helpers and is ready for take-off six hours after being alerted. The alert is usually issued by the Federal Ministry of the Interior or the Foreign Office.
tasks
The SEEWA first conducts an investigation in order to gain operational information. The need for drinking water , the possibilities of logistics and the raw water resources needed to produce drinking water are determined.
Then SEEWA carries out its actual task, the water treatment , checks the water quality and also takes care of the water distribution . Further application options are well rehabilitation and pipeline construction. SEEWA also advises those affected in order to set up an independent water supply system and thus create rehabilitation in the damaged area.
History and creation
At the rescue 2004 trade fair, Ute Vogt, the then State Secretary in the Ministry of the Interior, put the Rapid Response Unit Abroad . The aim was to be able to react to disasters and events as quickly and flexibly as possible.
Modules / locations
There are currently three ready-to-use modules. Each module represents a group, it should be noted that all functions are occupied five times, so that the total staff is around 50 helpers per module.
The south module is located in Blaubeuren in Baden-Württemberg , the central module is stationed in Göttingen in Lower Saxony and the north-east module in Itzehoe in Schleswig-Holstein .
Vehicles / equipment
SEEWA does not normally take vehicles abroad, otherwise the quick reaction would be jeopardized and financial resources would be wasted. For longer-term assignments, vehicles from other THW groups may be tracked.
Investments
The SEEWA has 2 different types of filter systems:
- 9 TWA Berkefeld with <6 m³ / h by means of precoat filtration,
- 4 TWA Kärcher RO 500 with <0.5 m³ / h using reverse osmosis,
- 7 pieces WTC 5000 Kärcher ultrafiltration 5 m³ / h by means of ultrafiltration 0.02 μm.
Other equipment
The other equipment includes:
- Camp equipment,
- Management equipment,
- Laboratory equipment,
- Electrical equipment,
- Rehabilitation equipment (infrastructure),
- Rehabilitation equipment (fountain),
- Medical equipment.
The entire equipment is kept in the ZAL (Center for Foreign Logistics) of the THW in Mainz.
Personnel / strength
The staff consists of ten emergency personnel per team (strength: 1/2/7 // 10), who must all have passed the occupational medical check-ups according to the G35 principle, including an operations manager , a technical manager , a logistician , a laboratory technician and specialist assistants . However, it can also be used in a lesser degree. B. conceivable as a 2-man team for the exploration.
There are specialist helpers in the following areas:
- Laboratory,
- Pipeline construction,
- Construction,
- Mechanics,
- Electrics,
- Medicine,
- Logistics,
- Well rehabilitation.
SEEWA missions
- 2004: A team of 16 helpers temporarily ensured the drinking water supply during the 2004 seaquake in the Indian Ocean . The team arrived in Sri Lanka on December 29, 2004 and operated two drinking water systems in the Galle district, each with a capacity of 6 m³ / h. Several groups were in Indonesia on the island of Simelue in the drinking water treatment operation.
- In May 2005 a SEEWA logistician and a full-time employee from the THW branch in Frankfurt shipped more than 61 tons of equipment from Banda Aceh (Indonesia) back to Germany.
- 2005: Several groups were on duty in Pakistan in October and November 2005 after the severe earthquake in Kashmir in 2005 .
- 2006: in Lebanon ;
- 2007: in Ghana and Uganda ;
- 2008: in China and Burma ;
- 2009: in Burkina Faso and in Indonesia (Sumatra);
- 2010: in Haiti and Pakistan ;
- 2013: in the Philippines ;
- 2014: in Bosnia and Serbia ;
- 2015: in Nepal .