Following the massive leaks of jet fuel at the Navy’s Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in 2021, a $75-million offer to the Honolulu Board of Water Supply to restart a major fresh water source for Oahu residents has been rejected.

The BWS says the Nov. 29 proposal by the state Department of Health, in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to tap into a portion of the $400 billion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for money to reopen the Halawa Shaft is premature.

The water agency asserts more tests, scientific analysis, and “good data” are first needed before resuming operations at urban Honolulu’s main source of potable water.

“BWS has no plans to restart Halawa Shaft until the nature and extent of the contamination in the aquifer is clearly understood, including ground flow direction and the fate and transport of the contaminants in the subsurface,” BWS told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser via email. “As long as we do not have good data for groundwater movement in the area, we will not turn Halawa Shaft back on.

“Pumping tests done in the past show a hydraulic connection between the two sides of Halawa Valley, and this keeps us from turning it back on in the absence of good data,” BWS says.

The water agency adds “if we did turn it back on, and pulled contaminated water over to our shaft, and it got into the water distribution system, it would not be anything less than catastrophic.”

Moreover, BWS states that since 2021 the Navy “continues to experience issues” with their water system.

“And their system is significantly smaller than ours,” the water agency says. “We serve approximately 400,000 residents with Halawa Shaft — with visitors, that can rise to well over 600,000. We have hundreds of miles of pipelines in the metro area out to Hawaii Kai. It would be impossible to clean up if such contamination occurred.”

BWS also notes it wants to protect “any of our other wells in the area” with regard to spilled Red Hill fuel.

“The BWS is in the process of installing at least three new monitor wells to help us with data collection but many more monitoring wells are needed to obtain data in order to know it is safe to restart Halawa Shaft,” the agency says. “The Navy is also putting some monitoring wells on their Red Hill property and other locations.”

Enacted under the Biden administration to fund infrastructure projects nationwide, the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also addresses “emerging contaminants” as well as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS — also called “forever chemicals” — which do not break down in the environment and pose health risks to humans and animals.

The state Department of Health says its secured part of the money, which could be directed toward BWS.

“DOH has $26 million of the federal emerging contaminant funding on hand,” the health department told the Star-Advertiser via email. “Should the Honolulu Board of Water Supply or another eligible public water system want to utilize this funding, DOH will apply for the remaining balance from 2024-2026 non-competitive funding opportunity available for an eligible project in Hawaii and for which EPA has indicated support.”

DOH says it’s been “advising the BWS and all eligible public water systems (excluding federal systems) of the availability of this federal funding for emerging contaminants since securing the funds in 2022.”

It adds meetings were held in December with the water agency to discuss possible use of this funding to reopen Halawa Shaft.

“We will continue to meet with BWS and other eligible public water systems to identify projects that are eligible for funding,” DOH says. “To date, there have been no formal requests from BWS or other public water systems to secure funds for treatment purposes.”

However, the health department noted early last year that “BWS expressed interest in utilizing a small portion of the funds, approximately $1 million, for studies related to exploring PFAS treatment options.

“But that request was not finalized,” DOH says. “When the BWS announced in late November that costs attributed to the Red Hill spill would be passed on to consumers, we wanted to ensure that BWS was aware that they could access this federal funding.”

In December, Gov. Josh Green weighed in on the matter too, after BWS board of directors formally raised water rate fees to the public for the next 5-1/2 years.

“The BWS’ decision to raise water rates by about 50% may create a hardship for many residents,” Green said in a written statement. “It’s important for the BWS to take advantage of available federal funding to reduce the costs it passes on to Oahu residents … I appreciate DOH’s efforts to secure this federal funding opportunity.”

According to the water agency, it is reviewing potential alternate uses if the offered $75 million was to be obtained in the future. In the meantime, BWS confirmed its prior funding request toward water studies related to “forever chemical.”

“We did put in $1 million for a PFAS study as well as reimbursement of about $10 million for the cost to comply with the lead and copper rule amendment,” BWS says. “Funding for these projects is coming from the DOH $38 million they have on hand.”

Meanwhile, DOH notes other projects on Oahu and around the state may also benefit from these funds — including projects in Maui County, still reeling from the Lahaina wildfire disaster.

“The Maui County Department of Water Supply has expressed interest in using approximately $1.1 million of the funding to expedite a project for its Napili (granular activated carbon) treatment units that serve West Maui … (and) it (has) expressed interest in utilizing the funding for other emerging contaminant needs,” DOH says.