“I joke with my wealthier friends that I am ‘summering in Iraq’ this year,” she said.

Barta, who is assigned with USACE’s Gulf Region South in the States, volunteered to work in Iraq for four months, beginning in April.

“I rationalized it with an analogy to a college semester,” she said. “Hard or easy, it’s a learning experience. It’s the fear of the unknown that holds us back from trying new things.”

For the past three years, she has worked as an ecologist, one of 26 in the corps, in the Savannah (Ga.) District. There, she’s involved in environmental restoration projects, such as the water regulation schedule for the Upper Lakes of the Kissimmee River in Florida. In Georgia, she worked on Gwinnett County’s Beaver Ruin and Jackson Creek environmental restoration projects, although both were put on hold because of lack of funding.

Barta said she didn’t have any perceptions or expectations about working in Iraq.

Three days each week, she travels by convoy to planning meetings of the Provincial Sector Coordination Team (PCT), accompanied by a private security detail. Iraqi decision-makers and coalition representatives attend these “fascinating” meetings, she said, and sometimes someone from the U.N., USAID or UNICEF also attend. Interpreters, of course, are always there.

With so many water projects to manage, Barta has little time for leisure activities, although she keeps up with her running and yoga, just like she does back home.

The nearest large city to the base is Basra, but “at this point, we do not travel for recreation,” she said. “It’s not considered safe.”

One of her water projects in Iraq is the Nassiriyah Water Treatment Plant, which she refers to as “our shining star.” This $173 million project is scheduled for completion by November.

“The contractor decided to import sand and manufacture concrete on site for maximum quality control,” Barta said, after the contractor terminated the concrete subcontractor and hired two replacement firms.

“Preliminary test results indicate that the new concrete subcontractor has achieved seven-day concrete strengths of 28 N/m2 — a 28-day strength of 30 N/m2 is required. We think this is great — exceptional in Iraq,” she said.

To increase production and make up for lost time, Barta said the contractor is using two shifts for formwork and concrete placement; the second shift lasts until 10 p.m. The contractor also has started trenching operations and laying the 800mm water main; about six kilometers of pipe is in place, she said.

Barta said she is working on connections to the local electrical grid, figuring out site locations for new water tanks, and working on routing the water main next to the highway.