PURE OF HEART ROTARY CLUB TO DONATE CLEAN-WATER SYSTEM.

Byline: SHARON COTAL  Staff Writer

The people of the Cook Islands will have quick access to drinking water in the event of a natural disaster thanks to a donation from the Santa Clarita Valley Rotary Club.

The club has purchased a Living Water Treatment System from Water Missions International to provide a means of purifying contaminated water on the islands after an earthquake, flood, tsunami or other disaster that puts water resources at risk.

The local Rotary's international chairman, Michael Berger, and five other team members recently returned from a training session at Water Missions International in Charleston, S.C., where they learned how to set up and operate the system. Berger, Nick Lentini, Ron Corn, his son Steve Corn, Robert Noville and John Sommers will travel to the Cook Islands on Aug. 13 to train members of their partner club, the Rarotonga Rotary Club.

``It was very intense and a little intimidating at times, but a great organization to work with,'' Berger said of the training session with Water Missions International.

Water Missions International is a Christian engineering organization that provides water treatment to some of the world's poorest countries. Because of its location in the South Pacific, the Cook Islands are plagued by disasters including cyclones that frequently strike with devastating effects and leave inhabitants without safe water for up to five days until bottled water can be flown in from Tahiti, Fiji or Samoa.

Transportable by pickup truck, the Living Water Treatment System can be set up within hours to purify up to 10,000 gallons of water per day from nearly any freshwater source.

The Cook Islands were chosen by the local club because one of the members, and a member of the team implementing the water system, used to live there.

``John Sommers used to live in Cook Islands and knew the situation there,'' Berger said. ``He told me they had a desperate need for help, so we made them our next project.''

This will be the first Living Water system sent to the Cook Islands. The club raised the money from members and others.

Santa Clarita area companies and individuals who donated funding for the system include Bayless Engineering; Harley Davidson of Lancaster; Community Chevrolet; Wrage Inc.; MWS Wire Industries; and the Samson, McMullen and Zimmerman families.

``None of these donors are members of Rotary International. They just believe in giving back and helping less fortunate people,'' Berger said.

During the August trip to the Cook Islands, the Rotary team will train members of the American Red Cross, the Rarotonga Rotary Club and the local government to operate the water treatment system.

``I can't wait. We're totally excited now that we've gone through training. The reality has set in and we can't wait to get down there,'' Berger said.

Team members donate their time and pay their own travel costs.

``It's a major commitment, but I think we will all find it worthwhile when we see the results in Rarotonga,'' he said.

sharon.cotal(at)dailynews.com

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Members of the Santa Clarita Valley Rotary Club check out the Living Water Treatment System during a training session in Charleston, S.C. From left, Nick Lentini, Ron Corn, Michael Berger and Robert Noville and two other team members (not pictured) will travel to the Cook Islands in August to install the system the club purchased and to train locals on how to use it.