{"id":78814,"date":"2024-02-07T21:59:30","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T21:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/02\/07\/navy-urgently-needs-to-fix-new-hawaii-water-issues-lawmaker-says\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:06:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:06:34","slug":"navy-urgently-needs-to-fix-new-hawaii-water-issues-lawmaker-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2024\/02\/07\/navy-urgently-needs-to-fix-new-hawaii-water-issues-lawmaker-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Navy \u2018urgently\u2019 needs to fix new Hawaii water issues, lawmaker says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Hawaii congresswoman is pressing for answers in the wake of new complaints about residents\u2019 drinking water \u2014 a fuel sheen, strong odors, and a chemical taste \u2014 nearly two years after the Navy finished its massive effort to flush out<\/a> and clean up 19,000 gallons of fuel that had leaked into their water supply at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere is the possible contamination even coming from? The public deserves to know,\u201d said Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, during a hearing for the House Armed Services Committee\u2019s readiness panel on Wednesday. \u201cOur service members and their families deserve to know that their water is safe and clean to drink. The Navy has a public health responsibility to urgently get to the bottom of this and make sure people know that the water that they drink, that they give to their families, is safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tokuda said the Hawaii Department of Health has received about 50 complaints over tap water and air quality from people using the Navy water system. In addition, water samples that were tested in the fall had trace amounts of diesel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile the chemical signatures don\u2019t correspond with the jet fuel that was stored at [Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility], where we had 19,000 gallons emptied into our drinking water system, impacting service members, their families and civilians, it is disturbing that we\u2019re talking about chemical traces in our drinking water, \u201cshe said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re concerned, too,\u201d said Meredith Berger, assistant secretary of the Navy for installations, energy and environment. \u201cAny time that we hear there is a report of something that is wrong, especially when it comes to water, we are taking action and responding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Navy has put together a team of scientists and communications experts to research the problem, and to share the information with residents, said Berger, testifying before the panel. Navy officials have visited the homes or locations identified and gathered information from those individuals, provided bottled water and have tested the water, Berger said. \u201cSignificantly, we have seen that every indication is below the 266 [parts per billion of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons]\u201d threshold for safe drinking water that the Hawaii Department of Health has set, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, she added, \u201cthere is something wrong, and we need to see what is causing people to report that they are having an impact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a Jan. 8 Navy press release<\/a>, the results of tests of water samples ranged from nothing detected to 144 parts per billion for Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH). An analysis of each sample that showed Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons showed no signs of JP-5 jet fuel, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Tokuda questioned the effects of even lower levels of TPH.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe do not know what exposure to lower levels of TPH in our drinking water \u2026 what that could mean to both service members and their families, and to civilians that are being exposed through these water system leakages and whatnot,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut at the end of the day,\u201d continued Tokuda, \u201cif there\u2019s a sheen on your water, and a smell coming from it, would you pick up that glass and drink it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, a recent lawsuit filed alleging the Navy was negligent in its actions surrounding the fuel leaks in 2021 also alleges that there are ongoing problems with the water, citing reports from the Environmental Protection Agency in 2022 where traces of petroleum were found in three of four homes tested. In October 2023, the EPA investigators observed an oily sheen in the water and ongoing health symptoms, such as rashes, and called for inspections and sampling of water heaters and plumbing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lawsuit was filed Feb. 5 in federal court in Hawaii, with 2,212 military family members and civilians. Two other lawsuits were filed earlier with a total of 301 plaintiffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lawsuit also cites data from the Navy\u2019s continued testing of the water that showed continued detections of TPH in the Navy water system. According to Kristina Baehr, one of the attorneys representing families, more than 50% of the samples taken \u2014 1,453 out of 3,045 in 2023 \u2014 detected TPH.<\/p>\n\n\n\t