CAMP BAHARIA, Iraq -- According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, only one percent of the world’s water supply is usable by humans. Nowhere is the importance of this precious resource more evident than in the deserts of Iraq, where citizens and U.S. servicemembers alike tap into reservoirs for matters such as farming, hygiene and drinking.To control its usage and ensure a sufficient quantity of water for everyone here, Iraqi Security Forces and a team from 5th Civil Affairs Group in direct support of 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment began an ongoing Civil Military Operation April 1 at the Baharia water pump house.CAG and ISF personnel patrolled through the farmlands near Camp Baharia and informing the residents of the water project, while II Marine Expeditionary Force engineers installed mechanisms on the pump to allow farmers to use 50% of the water pumped from the nearby Euphrates River to irrigate their land.Servicemembers will use the remaining 50% to refill the lake aboard the camp and secure a steady water supply for Baharia once the hotter, drier summer months begin.“We wanted to reinstate the flow of water from the pump house, giving the farmers half of the supply to irrigate their lands, and the rest to fill up Lake Baharia,” said Maj. Chris E. Phelps, the battalion’s civil affairs team leader. “(The battalion’s) CAG’s mission was to convey to the local population that we’re not taking their water, and that 50% is enough for everyone (servicemembers aboard Camp Baharia and local Iraqi farmers).”According to the 34-year-old Shawnee, Kan. native, Baharia and nearby Camp Fallujah Marines use Lake Baharia’s water mostly for hygiene, while local farmers utilize the aqueduct leading into the lake to irrigate their crops. The lake needed refilled because farmers hadn’t been regulating their water usage.The 1993 University of Kansas graduate said the 50/50 compromise will ensure both the local and military community receives sufficient water for their respective needs. Phelps said the population has responded positively toward the water compromise.However, refilling Lake Baharia was only one goal of this mission.“Today was a combination of ISF and American forces performing CMO while on patrol,” Phelps stated. “It’s more important that the local population sees the ISF on patrol, and that the kids get a piece of candy from the ISF than from us (Marines). In the end, the U.S. military is going to leave Iraq, so we want to put an Iraqi capability to every mission we do and minimize our footprint in this country.”Phelps added that it’s equally important for ISF personnel to learn combat tactics as it is for them to perform CMO.“It’s important for the Iraqi people to gain trust in their forces,” he said. “In the U.S., our military works for the people, but in Iraq, it hasn’t been that way for the longest time.”Meanwhile, Iraqi soldiers enjoyed performing these missions alongside their Marine counterparts.“I enjoy working with the coalition forces, because I know they are here to help us and the people out,” said Iraqi soldier Fadhl Abd Alusean.As the engineers finish their work at the Baharia water pump house, ISF and Marine forces will continue patrolling the land and informing the farmers of the 50/50 compromise. “Our plan is to conduct CMO patrols once or twice a week with the ISF,” he added.Thus far, these joint CMO patrols have been “a resounding success.”“We were welcomed at every stop we came to today,” he continued.By continuing to perform missions together, ISF and U.S. troops are working to build a better tomorrow for Iraq’s people and realizing how much two cultures from opposite hemispheres have in common.“I was speaking to one man today who said this was a welcome change and an exciting time for Iraq. I put my hand on his son’s shoulder and told him this is what I would want for my own boys back in the States, an environment and a country where the sky is the limit.”