{"id":46053,"date":"2021-12-02T11:15:58","date_gmt":"2021-12-02T11:15:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/12\/02\/petroleum-found-in-navy-water-system-after-fuel-leak-in-samples-from-elementary-school-hawaii-officials\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:36:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:36:29","slug":"petroleum-found-in-navy-water-system-after-fuel-leak-in-samples-from-elementary-school-hawaii-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/2021\/12\/02\/petroleum-found-in-navy-water-system-after-fuel-leak-in-samples-from-elementary-school-hawaii-officials\/","title":{"rendered":"Petroleum found in Navy water system after fuel leak in samples from elementary school: Hawaii officials"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Preliminary tests have found petroleum contaminants in water samples from a school in the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam water system serving primarily military children, Hawaii Health Department officials announced Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A military housing advocacy group has called on the Defense Department and the state of Hawaii to declare a state of emergency because of the water issues in the Navy water system. \u201cThe detection of petroleum in the water supply coupled with the illnesses reported by families using the water should warrant an immediate emergency response from all levels of the government,\u201d stated Armed Forces Housing Advocates, in an announcement. The group has been in touch with families, offering donated water supplies and arranging for off-base sites for families to use for bathing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents are concerned that their water is being contaminated by another fuel and water spill near the Navy\u2019s Red Hill facility, which happened sometime over the weekend of Nov. 20 and Nov. 21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The preliminary analysis was conducted on samples from Red Hill Elementary School that were collected Tuesday, and analyzed at a lab at the University of Hawaii, Hawaii Department of Health officials said. The school is one of the sites in the Navy water system where fuel-like odors have been detected in the water, including a number of military housing areas, where families have reported a variety of symptoms<\/a>. Samples have been sent to a lab in California for further analysis, health department officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Navy has also been conducting preliminary tests this week on water samples from various sites, and so far the tests have been negative for petroleum contaminants, a spokesman told Military Times Wednesday evening. The tests are ongoing and samples have been sent to a lab on the mainland for further analysis, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday, Hawaii Health Department officials advised all Navy water system users<\/a> to avoid using the water for drinking, cooking, or oral hygiene. And, they added, \u201cNavy water system users who detect a fuel odor from their water should avoid using the water for drinking, cooking, bathing, dishwashing, laundry or oral hygiene.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Red Hill Elementary, located in Honolulu, serves about 420 students, about 70 percent of whom are military children, according to the school\u2019s website. It\u2019s a Hawaii public school, but the students are from Aliamanu Military Reservation, Red Hill Makai and Moanalua Hillside Apartments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hawaii Department of Health officials stated they\u2019ve had more than 175 complaints about the odor from consumers of the Navy\u2019s Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam water system, including Aliamanu Military Reservation, Red Hill and Nimitz elementary schools, and military housing. The schools had stopped using the tap water because of the smell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a town hall meeting at Aliamanu Military Reservation Wednesday evening, a panel of experts, including a military doctor, answered military families\u2019 questions. Navy officials also held town hall meetings Tuesday night for residents in other affected communities. One resident said officials said the meetings will be held nightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\t