HONOLULU — The Interagency Drinking Water System Team launched a website where it will post updates about the flushing of the Navy’s water systems and data on drinking water samples.
The Navy is in the process of flushing the water distribution system and then flushing each “zone” or neighborhood that uses its water system.
The Interagency Drinking Water System Team, which includes the Hawaii Department of Health, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy, created the flushing plan. The goal is to clean the Navy’s fuel-contaminated water in order to meet acceptable safe drinking standards.
The new website provides information about the status of each zone, sampling data for both the distribution system and home flushing, and the current status of the Hawaii Department of Health’s public health advisory.
The Hawaii DOH has had an advisory in place since November that says residents and others in the Navy’s Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam area should avoid using the water for drinking, cooking or brushing their teeth.
After the Navy completes the flushing plan for each zone, The DOH will review the samples and if they approve, they will amend the drinking water advisory to be “fit for human consumption.”
Those who use the Navy’s water system started saying last year in November that they became sick after drinking and bathing in the water. At least half of the 8,000 households that live in the Navy’s water systems have moved into temporary housing in hotels.