The US Military Is Contaminating Honolulu's Water Supply

The U.S. Navy’s Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility sits just 100 feet above Oahu’s primary drinking water supply.

By Kathleen Wong, Prism

Last week, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael S. Regan conducted an inspection of the U.S. military’s World War II-era Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Honolulu to determine if it was operating in accordance with the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. On Monday, March 7, the Department of Defense announced plans to close the facility.

The announcement follows a months-long water contamination crisis caused by leaking military underground fuel tanks that have displaced around thousands of households in Honolulu’s Red Hill neighborhood and poisoned many. Meanwhile, the Navy has tried multiple attempts to keep the tanks running.

Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH) on the Mokapu Peninsula of Oahu, Hawaii

Photo by Tony Webster

According to an EPA spokesperson, the Navy is currently pumping and treating impacted groundwater with granular activated carbon filters and conducting product skimming from the Navy’s Red Hill Shaft.

In November 2021, about 14,000 gallons of fuel and water were released from the U.S. Navy’s Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, which sits just 100 feet above Oahu’s primary drinking water supply, the Southern Oahu Basal Aquifer.