Well Reopening Near Red Hill Stirs Up Lingering Concerns In Hawaii Over Poisoned Plume

The Navy intends to reopen a well near Red Hill St, Hawaii, following the closure of a well since an estimated 20,000 gallons of jet fuel spilled from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. This contamination seeped into the aquifer and affected drinking water for thousands of homes. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported in March that the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam water system was free of fuel contamination since 2022.

However, the state Department of Health granted conditional approval for reopening the ʻAiea-Hālawa Shaft, provided the Navy adheres to state rules for drinking water quality and notifies of any additional contamination. The well, one of two closed due to the spill in December 2021, has been fitted with a multistep filtration and disinfection system.

Despite this, community anxiety persists, with some residents and clean water advocates viewing the reopening as premature due to concerns of contaminating the water supply further. The aquifer remains contaminated, and there are worries that the filtration system could be overwhelmed if the contamination plume moves. The Navy assures that it will test and filter the water from the reopened well, but its track record in water testing has not earned public trust.

The 'Aiea-Hālawa well only accounts for a small fraction of the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam water system's capacity. The Navy is currently pumping, treating, and disposing of an average of 1.7 million gallons of water daily from the Red Hill Shaft to prevent fuel migration. However, crude oil remnants like total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) are still detected in the water system, and no studies have been conducted to assess the health impacts of jet fuel.