Question: Regarding the potential risk of broader contamination from the Navy’s Red Hill fuel tanks, the Honolulu Board of Water Supply has said it will be testing the Halawa shaft weekly and posting results on the BWS website as they become available. How long does it take for the results to come in from the weekly tests? Where exactly on the BWS website will the results be posted?
Answer: Receiving the test results takes “about 7 to 10 days as we have to send the samples to the mainland for the specific tests we require,” said Kathleen M. Elliott-Pahinui, BWS spokeswoman. The agency has a link for “Red Hill Updates” on its home page, boardofwatersupply.com, which is where test results will be posted, she said.
Petroleum contamination in the Navy’s water distribution system has disrupted daily life for many military families on Oahu (read about alternative lodging, shower facilities, bottled water and other assistance for them at www.navy.mil/ jointbasewater).
The BWS water distribution system is separate from the Navy’s system. However, as a precaution the BWS stopped pumping water at the Halawa shaft, the BWS water source closest to the Navy’s Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, underground tanks built 80 years ago that sit about 100 feet above the aquifer that supplies much of Oahu’s drinking water. The BWS has warned for years about potentially catastrophic risks to Oahu’s water supply from the aging fuel-storage system, which has a history of leaks. The Navy has said it doesn’t know exactly how petroleum contaminated its Red Hill water well, which is near the fuel storage tanks and pipelines that bring fuel to Pearl Harbor.
Spotlight on water
Ernest Lau, the Honolulu Board of Water Supply’s manager and chief engineer, is the scheduled guest for Friday’s edition of Spotlight Hawaii, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s livestream news show. The program will begin at 10:30 a.m. and can be viewed at www.star advertiser.com or via the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Facebook page, where viewers can also submit questions. Lau will discuss the Red Hill water crisis.
Q: How long did it take the military to build the Red Hill fuel tanks?
A: About three years, from December 1940 through 1943, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility originally was designed as a series of horizontal tunnels, but a last-minute switch to vertical tanks hastened construction, the EPA says on its website.
Savings bonds
Kokua Line heard back Tuesday from Hawaii National Bank, which said it will redeem U.S. savings bonds for its customers until Jan. 31. The service is available only to HNB clients, not the general public. After that date, the bank will refer customers to treasurydirect.gov, a website run by the U.S. Department of the Treasury Bureau of the Fiscal Service.
Q: How do you report a restaurant for inspection? I witnessed extremely unsanitary conditions that need remediation.
A: Contact the state Department of Health’s food safety branch or district health office, depending on where the restaurant is located. You can find statewide contact information on the DOH website at health.hawaii.gov/san/contact-us.
Mahalo
In yesterday’s downpour I was foolish to run some errands that seemed essential to me at the time, but could and should have waited. I’ve learned my lesson. Many thanks to the trio who assisted when my car stalled near the downtown Post Office. I made it home safely. I failed to get their names. I appreciate their assistance. — A reader
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
