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Navy has new testing protocol for water system as residents ask when they can return home

Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) collects a water sample at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Dec. 11, 2021. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Nick Wilson)
Tech. Sgt. Nick Wilson/Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet
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Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) collects a water sample at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Dec. 11, 2021. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Nick Wilson)

The Navy says it's beginning a comprehensive testing protocol that will help determine when it is safe for residents affected by contaminated water to return home.

At a town hall meeting on Thursday, Navy officials stressed that newly released test results showed trace contaminants well below state clean water standards in more than two dozen samples.

One resident asked what that means as far as when they can return to their homes and use the tap water.

Chris Waldron, an engineer with the Navy-Marine Corps Public Health Center, says that call will be determined by the new testing protocol, and conversations with the state health department and Environmental Protection Agency.

"We will roll that out, we will communicate those results on a regular basis, almost daily, as we get into the thick of the actual sampling effort and the decision will be made in conjunction with and side by side with HDOH and EPA and that partnership in the unified command," Waldron said.

Navy officials say they are confident that they are drastically reducing contaminants in the water by pumping solely from its Waiawa well.

They brushed off concerns raised by Honolulu Board of Water Supply officials, who said it is difficult — if not impossible — to fully rid water distribution pipes of petroleum contamination.

Meanwhile, Hawaiʻi’s congressional delegation on Thursday asked House and Senate leaders to make sure the military spends whatever money it has available to address the contamination of Pearl Harbor drinking water by a Navy fuel storage facility that has leaked petroleum.

They asked congressional leaders for their commitment that Congress would provide “robust funding” to support improved safety and operations for the aging tanks and pipeline network at the World War II-era Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility.

Last week, the Navy said officials believe a one-time spill of jet fuel inside an access tunnel on Nov. 20 contaminated one of its wells and the tap water. Officials said they don’t believe leaking fuel tanks tainted the water.

Navy divers have been trying to remove jet fuel from the water shaft where petroleum was detected. Navy officials said they will also flush clean water through the overall water system and water systems in all homes. They said they hope to complete that process by Christmas.

The Navy has suspended using the Red Hill fuel storage facility but has said it will challenge an order from the state health department to remove fuel from the tanks.

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