Question: The Honolulu Board of Water Supply wants to gradually increase water rates 66% (compounded) by July 2028. In a newsletter detailing the proposed rate hikes, the BWS says that “our water supply is under unprecedented threat from the Red Hill fuel crisis.” Will the BWS seek reimbursement from the military for all the expensive work it has to do to protect Oahu’s water supply?
Answer: The BWS says it “will continue to actively pursue funding from the military and federal government” but so far has received no compensation from the Navy for the crisis, which has forced the BWS “to make large investments to replace 17.5 million gallons per day of potable (drinking) water. Many things are still undetermined, including whether or not BWS will be able to recover any of these additional costs from the U.S. Navy.”
The BWS closed wells near Red Hill to prevent fuel that leaked from the military’s storage tanks from tainting the BWS water system; it drilled monitoring wells and is looking to develop new wells tapping into different areas of Oahu’s underground aquifer.
You are one of numerous readers asking how much the Red Hill crisis is driving the proposed water rate increases, whether the BWS will recoup its crisis costs and whether the closed wells will ever reopen. Similar questions also came up at recent community meetings about the proposed rate hikes. We’ve gleaned answers from FAQs from each of those meetings, which can be read in full at boardofwatersupply.com.
>> The Board of Water Supply says it is keeping close track of costs related to the Red Hill crisis and “keeping all options open for cost recovery.” It said it has not received any compensation from the military or federal government but will continue to seek it. It asked the Navy about reimbursement for costs related to Red Hill and received a letter from the Navy saying that the Navy is not authorized to do so. “BWS continues to explore other federal funding to offset Red Hill expenses but will also pursue all open and available options for reimbursement.”
At one community meeting, someone asked, “How much of this rate increase is driven by the fiasco at Red Hill?”
The BWS responded that “we are incurring costs because of Red Hill, like installing monitor wells to find out where the contamination is going and for developing alternative water sources so that we don’t risk pumping fuel- contaminated groundwater into our system. We don’t know what the final cost is going to be. We are keeping all options open, including legal options if necessary.”
>> It’s too early to estimate the total costs attributed to the Red Hill crisis, as the BWS is very early in the process of developing new wells. “These costs will (be) realized over a long period of time, and BWS will pursue reimbursement down the line.” The process of developing new water sources “must begin now so these sources will be online in five to seven years. BWS cannot wait for reimbursement before starting these projects, but we will continue to pursue funds from the Navy.” Developing a new wells requires the BWS to find a feasible site, drill a well and “test pump” to check the quantity and quality of water from the underground aquifer at that location. “Then you get into planning, designing, permitting and then constructing a permanent production well facility,” which requires costly infrastructure.
>> It’s also too soon to say whether wells near Red Hill that the BWS closed will ever be safe to operate again; they supplied water for customers from Halawa to Hawaii Kai. “If we determine that we won’t be pumping contaminated water into our system, we might be able to turn the wells back on, but we need to be confident that the field-collected data and information is enough to say that the risk is really low or nonexistent. That will take time.”
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.
