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For Immediate Release
December 15, 2021

Board of Water Supply Board Passes Resolution on Red Hill

HONOLULU  -  The Board of Water Supply (BWS) Board of Directors at their December meeting yesterday, passed a resolution calling for the immediate removal of fuel from the Red Hill facility and to revisit long-term solutions to protect O‘ahu’s drinking water. The fuel currently sits over the Pearl Harbor section of the aquifer. This is the same aquifer that the BWS Halawa Shaft was pumping from until recently. The chances of ever using the Halawa Shaft again is unknown.

“We must protect our aquifers, which sustains life for all of us here on O‘ahu now and hopefully into the future – it’s akin to drinking from different straws but from the same glass,” stated Board Chair Bryan Andaya. “Given the current state of the facilities at Red Hill, the fuel must be moved immediately to ensure there is no contamination of the aquifer until a safe long-term solution can be reached. If secondary containment is not a feasible alternative as the Navy has claimed, then relocating the fuel away from the aquifer is the long-term solution.”

Recent tests from the Halawa Shaft show no presence of fuel constituents. Test results on the Aiea and Halawa Wells are expected early next week and will be shared with the public on the Board’s website at boardofwatersupply.com.

For more information, please call (808) 748-5041 or send an email to contactus@hbws.org.

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About the Board of Water Supply

The Board of Water Supply (BWS), a semi-autonomous agency of the City and County of Honolulu, manages Oahu’s municipal water resources and distribution system.  As the largest water utility in the State, the BWS serves approximately one million customers on Oahu.  The BWS embraces its mission of “Water for Life – Ka Wai Ola” – to provide a safe, dependable, and affordable water supply, now and into the future.  Uwē  ka lani, ola ka honua – “When the heavens weep, the earth lives.”  For more information, visit www.boardofwatersupply.com, follow @BWSHonolulu or like the BWS’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/BWSHonolulu.

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Contact:

Kathleen M. Pahinui 
Public Information Officer 
Honolulu Board of Water Supply
Phone: (808) 748-5319