Kudos to Thomas Luna (“Navy refuses to do right thing and pay up,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Oct. 23).
While we genuinely commend Navy Vice Adm. John Wade for his exemplary leadership of Joint Task Force-Red Hill in planning, organizing and now executing the critical Red Hill defueling operations, there are numerous issues that the Navy still needs to own up to.
A disturbing issue is the proposed Honolulu Board of Water Supply rate increases, in which Oahu water users apparently will be paying for all costs attributed to the damages the Navy has done to our precious water system.
These include substantial costs to drill contamination monitoring wells, and to drill new exploratory and replacement wells, the result of the Navy’s fuel spills and the subsequent shutdown of Oahu’s largest water source, the Halawa Shaft.
Hawaii’s cost of living is already the highest in the nation. We cannot have higher water costs further contribute to pricing us out of Hawaii.
The Navy, not Oahu’s water users, should pay for all damages to our water system. It is the right and honorable thing to do.
Water matters!
Ed Uchida
Hawaii Kai
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