On Sunday, a protest was held by Kaʻohewai, a coalition of Hawaiian organizations defending Kapūkaki, the original name for Red Hill, in front of the U.S. Pacific Fleet headquarters. Other protests were held last week, demanding the closure of the U.S. Navy Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility.
The protest was peaceful, and no arrests were made. The protest comes after residents in military housing started complaining at the end of November that their tap water smelled like gas, and that they were experiencing physical symptoms such as nausea, rashes, and vomiting. Department of Health officials confirmed Friday that the Navy’s water system contained levels of gasoline and diesel range hydrocarbons that were 350 times higher than safe standards for drinking water.
The Navy now says that the contamination likely came from a Nov. 20 spill of 14,000 gallons of a mixture of jet fuel and water from the Red Hill Storage Facility’s lower tunnel. For decades, questions have surrounded the U.S. Navy’s Red Hill Storage Facility, where as much as 250 million gallons of fuel are stored in 20 underground tanks that were built in the 1940s. The tanks have leaked numerous times, and they are located about 100-feet above an aquifer.
Early Sunday morning, Native Hawaiians organized by Kaʻohewai gathered in front of the headquarters for the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Here, they built and dedicated a koʻa — a shrine consisting of circular piles of stone and coral used in ceremonies that multiply abundance, in this case water, and all the Hawaiian gods associated with life.
“Kaʻohewai is standing firm, demanding that the military immediately remove its 20 fuel tanks and remediate the damage they caused,” said Andre Perez, a leader of Kaʻohewai, in a post about the protest on Facebook.
The koʻa is a focal point for Hawaiian religious practices, which Kaʻohewai said will stay in place until the Navy removes the fuel tanks at the Red Hill Storage Facility.
“Nothing is more important to the well-being of our islands and the life it supports than wai, precious water,” said Kalehua Krug, one of Kaʻohewaiʼs leaders, in the Facebook post. “Wai is a kino lau (body form) of our gods Kāne and Kanaloa. When we think of land and water as the bodies of our gods who nurture life, we care for those bodies. When we see land and water as commodities for human benefit, we exploit them. We are here to protect Kāne and Kanaloa.”
Over the course of the day, the protesters participated in pule (chants and prayers), hula and blew the pū (conch shell).
"We acknowledge and respect the rights of individuals to engage in activities such as those that took place [this morning], but those activities should not be conducted in a manner that endangers or impedes the safe flow of traffic both on public highways or in and out of any installation," said Marissa Huhmann, a Lieutenant commander with the U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs, in a statement to Spectrum News Hawaii.
"While we do not discuss specifics of security measures on our installations, Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam security forces were aware of Sunday’s demonstration," added Lydia Robertson, a public affairs officer for the Navy Region Hawaii.
On Friday, the Oahu Water Protectors, a coalition of community members fighting for clean water, staged a “die in” at the Hawaii State Capitol and called for the shutdown of the Red Hill Storage Facility. Several other protests have been held in December, including a large protest on Dec. 8 at the intersection of Ala Moana Boulevard and Punchbowl Street.
Sierra Club of Hawaii has been working for many years to fight against the fuel tanks at Red Hill. They are now organizing community members to submit testimony to the Honolulu City County, regarding Bill 41, which would require operators of underground storage tanks with a capacity of 100,000 gallons or more to obtain a permit from the city that would only be granted if the applicant proves that the tank system will not leak, and Resolution 21-276, which would urge the removal and relocation of the Red Hill storage facility. They are also asking people to write and tweet to the secretary of defense urging the shutdown of Red Hill.
The Navy has shut down two of their three wells, the Red Hill and Aiea-Halawa well, which supply water to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and surrounding military housing, after samples showed petroleum contaminated the water. However, the Navy now denies that the Aiea-Halawa well is contaminated. The Navy is working to remove the contamination from its wells, and many families that live in military housing have been relocated to hotels in Waikiki.
On Monday, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin III, released a statement saying that the water contamination was something he was taking very seriously. "U.S. Navy leadership updates me daily on measures they’re taking to care for affected personnel and families, to restore the safety of the water system, and to coordinate with local authorities — in particular the Hawaii State Department of Health — about the best way forward."
"I fully support the Navy’s decision to suspend operations at the Red Hill Underground Storage Tanks while investigative efforts continue and their commitment to conduct an independent study of operations and system integrity at Red Hill," he continued.
Honolulu residents from Halawa to Hawaii Kai get their water from the Board of Water Supply, which shut down two of its nearby wells — the Halawa well and Aiea well — as a precautionary measure on Dec. 3 and 10, since the BWS pumps its water from the same aquifer as the Navy’s water system.
In the meantime, the Board of Water Supply will rely on its other wells to meet the demands of Honolulu, and has asked residents and businesses to conserve water.
Last week, Gov. David Ige ordered the Navy to suspended operations at Red Hill and provide a plan for emptying the 20 tanks.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The original story was updated to include reaction from the U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs and the Navy Region Hawaii. (Dec. 14, 2021)