Hawaii is highly dependent on its pure, fresh groundwater for public and domestic water supply. That supply is replenished by rainfall that filters down through our soil and volcanic rocks into underground aquifers. One of the many climate change threats facing Hawaii includes changes to the intensity and frequency of rainfall that threatens our fresh water security.
The current crisis caused by the contamination of groundwater supplies at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage facility sets Hawaii back further from its long-term water security goals; undermines decades of water management and protection by the state of Hawaii and the City & County of Honolulu; and, most critically, it endangers the health and safety of our community. The severe threat posed by the fuel storage tanks has been looming for many years, despite consistent concerns expressed by the community, the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, the Hawaii Department of Health, and the Hawaii Commission on Water Resource Management.
We, as leaders in the water sector in Hawaii, are writing this letter united alongside Hawaii’s congressional delegation and Gov. David Ige in calling on the Navy to immediately suspend operations at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage facility and work with state regulators to contain and mitigate the contamination. Furthermore, we urge the U.S. Department of Defense to provide funding to permanently eliminate the danger that the fuel storage facility poses to our water supply and community livelihood.
We further urge the Navy to ensure regular water-quality sampling is conducted, and that past and future monitoring results and risks are shared quickly and transparently with the State Commission on Water Resource Management, state Department of Health and the Honolulu Board of Water Supply.
Our hearts and aloha go out to the families affected by this preventable tragedy.
The Navy must work with our state and county water agencies to protect the health and safety of our communities and environment now and into the future. Our aquifers are irreplaceable.
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The Wai Maoli: Hawaii Fresh Water Initiative (FWI), was created by the Hawaii Community Foundation in 2013 to bring diverse parties together to develop a forward-thinking strategy to increase water security for Hawaii. The Council represents diverse parties from government, nonprofits, agriculture, large landowners, private commercial, academia and the military, all working together to protect Hawaii’s fresh water supplies and ensuring a safe and reliable drinking water supply for current and future generations.
Kaeo Duarte is chairman of the Fresh Water Advisory Council and vice president of the Community & Aina Resiliency Group at Kamehameha Schools. This was submitted on behalf of many members of the council.
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The following Fresh Water Advisory Council members co-signed this piece:
>> Kaeo Duarte, Kamehameha Schools
>> Stephen Anthony, member at-large
>> Michael Buck, Commission on Water Resource Management
>> Suzanne Case, Department of Land and Natural Resources
>> Meredith Ching, Alexander & Baldwin Inc.
>> Harold Edwards, ITC Water Management
>> Mark Fox, member at-large
>> Thomas Giambelluca, Water Resources Research Center (UH-Manoa)
>> Kaleo Manuel, Commission on Water Resource Management
>> Keith Okamoto, County of Hawaii Department of Water Supply
>> Jeff Pearson, Maui County Department of Water Supply
>> LeeAnn Silva, Queen Emma Land Co.
>> Barry Usagawa, Honolulu Board of Water Supply
>> Stevie Whalen, Hawaii Agricultural Research Center
