Hundreds of Army service members and their families living at Aliamanu Military Reservation and Red Hill neighborhoods have been moved because of contaminated water in the Navy’s water system.
The Army plans to restore clean drinking water in these areas through a two-phase flush and filter plan.
The Army Corps of Engineers presented its plan to flush and filter the contaminated water system at a virtual town hall via Facebook Live on Friday.
It will be using carbon filtration water filters, with the goal of having them installed by Jan. 2.
“Based on the history of the Red Hill well and the AMR/Red Hill proximity — they're the housing communities at the highest point of elevation," Brig. Gen. Kirk Gibbs of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pacific Ocean Division said.
"When there is fuel in water contaminated, fuel is always trying to find its way to the highest places. And so in a lot of those water tanks, or in the wells that are at the higher levels — that's why this plan we're really focused on ensuring that AMR and Red Hill have another line, another level of protection before they go into the communities," Gibbs said.
Water will be tested throughout the flush and filter phases.
The current timeline shows the process taking at least a month, with residents allowed home sometime early next year.
Gibbs said the Corps of Engineers will return within the next 10 days to provide an updated timeline on the water flushing plan.
