Red Hill news: the Navy’s fuel facility above Oʻahu’s main aquifer, the 2021 drinking water contamination, groundwater monitoring, cleanup and the closure of the tanks.
Navy pumping doesn’t fully contain Red Hill fuel contamination, study finds
A dye tracer study shows groundwater near the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility moves both mauka and makai, and the Navy’s pumping does not appear to fully contain the contamination, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported from a state Fuel Tank Advisory Committee meeting Thursday in Pearl City.
The Navy is studying how many fuel releases have happened over 80 years and how much fuel reached the environment, with results expected next year. The Navy reported that about 99% of the 10-mile pipeline has been cleaned, six tanks are being decommissioned and five are in sludge removal.
The Navy said its drinking water has been safe since 2022. It plans to reopen the ʻAiea-Hālawa shaft soon, with conditional approval from the state Department of Health, and to reopen the Red Hill shaft in 2028 once a filter system is installed. The 2021 leak contaminated drinking water for about 93,000 people on the Navy water line.
What it means: Red Hill sits above the aquifer that supplies much of Honolulu’s drinking water, so how far the fuel spreads matters to everyone on Oʻahu.
