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Nearly 2 million gallons of partially treated wastewater released off Pearl Harbor

FILE - Naval Facilities Engineering Command Hawaii wastewater treatment plant at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in 2011 (U.S. Navy photo by Denise Emsley)
Courtesy Photo/U.S. Navy
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FILE - Naval Facilities Engineering Command Hawaii wastewater treatment plant at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in 2011 (U.S. Navy photo by Denise Emsley)

Nearly 2 million gallons of partially treated wastewater was discharged from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

The highlighted area shows the potential size of the wastewater spill from Jan. 8, 2024.
Department of Health
The highlighted area shows the potential size of the wastewater spill from Jan. 8, 2024.

Just before 3 p.m. Jan. 8, the transformer that provides power to the ultraviolet system at the wastewater treatment plant was knocked offline due to heavy rain, according to the state Department of Health.

Power was restored to the system about five hours later.

Officials say the ultraviolet system is the final stage of the process to disinfect wastewater before it's discharged into the plant’s outfall approximately 1.5 miles offshore.

The Navy posted signs along the shorelines of Pearl Harbor and Hickam. The public was advised to avoid contact with water near the entrance channel to Pearl Harbor and off the ʻEwa end of the reef runway.

The advisory was canceled on Jan. 17 and all signs were removed.

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