U.S. Rep. Kai Kahele, D-Hawaii, called the contamination in the Navy’s water system “a crisis of astronomical proportions” during a Thursday hearing of the House Armed Services Committee.

Kahele told Vice Admiral Rick Williamson during the hearing that he was “bringing up Red Hill” because “the Navy’s water system is contaminated with petroleum.”

What You Need To Know

  • U.S. Rep. Kai Kahele called the contamination in the Navy’s water system “a crisis of astronomical proportions” 

  • There are questions about whether the contamination comes from the U.S. Navy’s Red Hill Underground Fuel Storage facility

  • Residents in the Joint Pearl Harbor-Hickam Base area have complained about the odor of the water

  • Kahele also questioned whether it was safe to continue to use the storage facility

While it’s not conclusive yet, many people have questions about whether the contamination comes from the U.S. Navy’s Red Hill Underground Fuel Storage facility. The military built 20 steel fuel tanks underground, which have leaked many times since it was built in the 1940s.

The storage facilities are located in the mountain range above Pearl Harbor. On Monday, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Adm. Samuel Paparo, ordered an investigation into the release of 14,000 gallons of water-and-fuel mixture that occurred on Nov. 20, 2021.

Kahele noted Thursday that the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam water system is now shut down, leaving 100,000 people without water.

He then talked about how people and animals are getting sick, highlighting that this is happening to military families “who need answers.” Kahele is a military pilot who is currently a commissioned officer in the Hawaii Air National Guard, where he serves as a Lieutenant Colonel at Hickam Air Force Base. He is also a combat veteran who was deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Kahele said earlier in the week that he visited some of the impacted Navy personnel and their families.

“One mother I met, Amanda, invited me into her home to test the water from her kitchen,” he said. “Water that she and her family had been consuming for a week after the most recent leak on Nov. 20 as a result of operator error.”

He then held up a plastic water bottle that he said included samples he had collected from her kitchen faucet.

“Amanda had her daughter at home in Zoom classes because her school was closed due to the contamination. Her family had been drinking the water for days,” he said.

Kahele said that Amanda’s dog had been sick and was vomiting, her daughter went to the emergency room, and her son experienced an unusual sore on his mouth. He said Thursday morning, around 6 a.m. Hawaii time, Amanda had texted him after going to the Tripler Army Medical Center emergency room the night before because of a headache and irritation in her mouth and throat; her doctor diagnosed her with chemical burns in her mouth.

“She is worried, rightfully so, about her health and the health of her family,” he added.

He said another military mother, named Kelly, had emailed him Wednesday night because she is six months pregnant. “She had been drinking the water for a week and she is, rightfully so, in a panicked state,” he said.

He then reached for an enlarged photo and pointed out that the drinking water from a family’s home at Pearl Harbor had a sheen on the surface.

“I can tell you myself, that if you smell this water, you would know that there is something wrong with this water. There’s a petroleum product in this water.”

Kahele also mentioned calls to shut down Red Hill and questioned whether it was safe to continue to use the storage facility.

Earlier in the week, residents in the Joint Pearl Harbor-Hickam Base area started complaining about the odor of the water.

On Wednesday, the Hawaii Department of Health detected petroleum in water samples taken from Red Hill Elementary School, which uses the Navy Water System and had stopped using the water after smelling fuel-like odors earlier in the week. The water samples were analyzed at a lab at the University of Hawaii, and samples have also been sent to a lab in California for further testing. 

The U.S. Navy said in a statement Wednesday that it is continuing to test samples and identify the source of the issue with the water.

The U.S. Navy has said that people living in Catlin Park, Halsey Terrace, Radford Terrace, Doris Miller, Moanalua Terrace, and Ohana Nui have been impacted. Nimitz Elementary School also said it stopped using water after fuel-like odors became noticeable.

The Department of Health recommended that all Navy water system users stop using the water for drinking, cooking or oral hygiene and that those who smell the fuel-like odor should also avoid using the water for drinking, cooking, bathing, dishwashing, laundry or oral hygiene.