Over the next three days, supporters Darlene and John Abt are pledging to match your new monthly donation 12 times or double your one-time gift, all up to $7,500!

We've raised $42,000 toward our $100,000 goal!

More than 653 donors have already made gifts during our summer campaign!

Inspectors from the Environmental Protection Agency found potential violations of federal and state safe drinking water rules.  

Two of the U.S. military’s water distribution systems, which serve some 93,000 people around Pearl Harbor, have numerous problems  that may violate federal and state regulations, according to an investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Whether the military will be hit with violation notices for its alleged maintenance and oversight failures has not yet been determined, the agency said.

The EPA reviewed the water systems in April, about four months after fuel from the Navy’s Red Hill storage facility contaminated a nearby drinking water well, sickening military families. Inspectors were looking for compliance with U.S. Safe Drinking Water Act regulations. 

The agency finalized two reports in May, one covering Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam and the other on the Aliamanu Military Reservation water systems. 

While the contamination of the water system with fuel is the chief concern in the community, the EPA found several other issues. 

During the review of the Pearl Harbor system, inspectors found:

The report doesn’t make a judgment on the safety of the water as a result of these deficiencies, and the Navy and state Department of Health have maintained since March that the water is safe to drink. However, residents continue to report health problems they believe are connected to the water.

Wayne Tanaka, the executive director of the Sierra Club of Hawaii, said the EPA’s findings are very concerning.

“It’s flabbergasting that they would be so negligent and so reckless in allowing these issues to persist,” he said. “This is water that is being provided to families, children, infants.” 

At the Red Hill water shaft, the EPA also observed an “actively leaking and severely corroded” valve on a pipe that leads to the Red Hill fuel storage tanks. The report doesn’t say whether it was leaking water or fuel.  

Pearl Harbor water system operators and officials with the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command were “unable to demonstrate a general understanding of the water system” and how to apply the Safe Drinking Water Act and Hawaii Department of Health regulations, according to the investigative report. 

And the system’s risk assessment didn’t factor in the possibility of fuel contamination from Red Hill, the report states, even though that threat has been well documented for years. 

The EPA also faulted the Pearl Harbor water system for failing to issue a public notification to its customers within 24 hours of confirming the Red Hill shaft had been contaminated with fuel. Fuel gushed from a pipeline for 34 hours beginning on Nov. 20, but the Navy didn’t shut down the well – located just 380 feet away – until Nov. 28, after residents started complaining. The military didn’t publicly acknowledge there was fuel in the water until Dec. 2.

“They shouldn’t be running the water system,” Tanaka said of the Navy. “I don’t trust them with that responsibility.”

In a statement, Navy spokeswoman Lydia Robertson said the Navy has taken action on the items in the investigation. 

“The Navy has already fixed and remedied or has plans to address the items mentioned in the EPA report and continues to work closely with EPA to ensure the water in the Navy’s Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam system continues to meet all standards,” she said.

The Aliamanu Military Reservation water system is operated by the Army Garrison Hawaii but receives its water from the Pearl Harbor system. It serves approximately 6,400 people, the EPA said. 

In that system, inspectors again found several problems, including maintenance issues, a lack of staffing and unspecified floating particles on the surface of the water in one of the water storage tanks. The particles were allegedly removed soon after, according to the EPA. 

The EPA posted both investigative reports on its website this month but did not otherwise announce their publication. 

A Hawaii-based spokesman for the agency declined to comment on the findings on Friday. 

“These documents are still related to ongoing enforcement efforts, so EPA is not discussing these documents at the moment,” Public Affairs Specialist Alejandro Díaz said. 

Regardless of who or what you voted for, we hope we’ve distinguished ourselves from other news media through our election coverage as well as our commitment to strengthening the civic health of Hawaii.

Now, we’re asking you to consider becoming part of something larger than yourself by joining as a Civil Beat member.

Help kick-start Civil Beat’s summer fundraising campaign with a gift of $5+/month or one-time donation of $60+ and receive a limited edition “Truth Maze” beach towel.

Civil Beat has been named the best overall news site in Hawaii for the 11th year in a row by the Society of Professional Journalists Hawaii Chapter.

You're officially signed up for our daily newsletter, the Morning Beat. A confirmation email will arrive shortly.

In the meantime, we have other newsletters that you might enjoy. Check the boxes for emails you'd like to receive.

Inbox overcrowded? Don't worry, you can unsubscribe or update your preferences at any time.