News Release

For Immediate Release
April 26, 2023

Board of Water Supply Statement on the Environmental Protection Agency Office of  Inspector General’s Report Regarding Red Hill Water Contamination Crisis

HONOLULU – The Honolulu Board of Water Supply (BWS) is in receipt of the report issued on April 25, 2023 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) concerning the Red Hill water contamination crisis.  The BWS appreciates the OIG’s investigation into and evaluation of the facts and circumstances that led to the November 2021 fuel release at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility and the ensuing contamination of the U.S. Department of the Navy’s (Navy) water distribution system.  The BWS agrees with the OIG and EPA that the regulatory agencies need to do their part to ensure proper oversight of the Navy’s defueling and closure efforts at Red Hill and to clearly communicate with and involve stakeholders and the public in this process.  However, the considerable damage to Oahu’s irreplaceable sole-source groundwater aquifer and the serious public health impacts that are the direct result of the Navy’s history of numerous, voluminous releases at the Red Hill facility have yet to be fully addressed.  Resolute agency action is equally necessary to ensure that the Navy takes responsibility for these impacts to public health and that it completes a thorough remediation of the subsurface and groundwater in the vicinity of Red Hill.  The BWS remains committed to working with the EPA and the Hawaii Department of Health to safeguard our critical drinking water resources so that we can continue to provide safe, dependable and affordable water to the people of Oahu now and into the future.

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Contact:

Kathleen Elliott-Pahinui
Information Officer
Honolulu Board of Water Supply
Phone: (808) 292-4672