The U.S. Navy is beginning the process of filtering and flushing fuel out of its contaminated water lines.
For at least the next month and a half, the U.S. Navy will be filtering and flushing its water lines of any fuel matter. This is in response to reports of a gasoline smell coming from tap water caused by a leak at its Red Hill fuel storage facility.
The Navy began the process using four granular activated carbon filter tanks in a Naval housing neighborhood in Pearl City on Monday.
Water from the distribution line is passed through a mobile tank filtration trailer. After filtration, water is discharged in a nearby park or open field.
According to the Navy, the discharged water is, “cleaner than rain.”
Matt Kurano, an environmental specialist with the state health department, says the filtration system has been characterized as a Brita filter – and while there is some accuracy to that, it is much more complex than that.
"In this case, there’s quite a bit more engineering. I know that the Navy specified units that could more than cover the amount of water being put through it," he said.
"In essence, the chemistry is similar, which is activated carbon that can remove pollutants of concern. But I do think it somewhat diminishes how much effort went into making sure that the capacity of the units, the size of the units, the mobility of the units was appropriate for what they’re doing," Kurano said.
Kurano says this effort is the first phase of a larger effort to ensure safe drinking water.
According to the Navy, this first phase will take a day to complete. Lieutenant Commander John Daly says the Navy will test the water after every flushing process.
"Once tested and confirmed by independent laboratories, as well as our partners and their independent laboratories as well, we can begin to declare certain distribution systems safe," Daly said.
"And from there, we’ll go into homes, businesses, and other points of service. We’ll methodically flush those parts of the system as well, and then we’ll begin testing," he said.
Daly says he anticipates this entire effort to be completed within 30 to 45 days. But he stresses the test results will determine the project’s completion.
