Soldiers in Antarctica Save Water

STORY:
Argentina's Marambio Base is located on Seymour Island next to the outstretched Antarctic Peninsula. The soldiers and civilian workers that work here must follow strict water-saving procedures, and their water is rationed out like they were living in the desert.

[Cristian Carvallo, Air Force Mechanic]:
"The time we have in the bathroom is just the time you need to cover the basics. It is five minutes in the bathroom, quicker if possible. To shave, you have to fill up the sink a little, which normally if you were at home you would leave the tap running. But here, getting water means work and everyone works so that we have water."

Most of Antarctica's fresh water is frozen as ice. And converting that ice is a constant struggle for the base's plumbing team.
During the summer months they drop large pipes down into the ice-covered pond to pump out the water. In the winter months the process becomes even more difficult.

Temperatures can plunge up to 40 degrees Celsisus and the lake freezes over. Snow must be manually collected and melted down in powered tanks that slowly agitate the snow. While melting the snow is a process that requires fuel, which is also in short supply.

[Horacio Marco, Plumber]:
"During winter I am in here with the melting machine alongside two other guys with spades to melt the snow by digging it around."

[Daniel Lujan, Base Coordinator]:
"The other crucial issue here is the fuel, which is also rationed out. We have fuel here for the whole year for the whole base and if we use too much of it then we are putting ourselves at risk for the final months."

Showers are allowed only once a day in winter. While in summer, when the base's population can rise to 160 people, no one is allowed to shower on Wednesday and Sundays unless you're one of the cooks or engine room workers. Many bases in Antarctica are located near glaciers, and water can be collected during summer melts. But that is not the case at Marambio, where they rely exclusively on snowfall.