JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii – As part of its ongoing commitment to keep the public informed about the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, Navy Region Hawaii is providing an update on a variety of ongoing actions including the most recent closure supplement, groundwater remediation, testing data and the drinking water long-term monitoring program.
Navy Water Distribution System Safe, No PFAS Detected - The Navy, in coordination with the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), released validated results from water samples collected at the Waiawa and Navy Aiea-Halawa Shafts (NAHS) on April 28 as requested by the EPA. The Navy’s sample results for the Waiawa Shaft (the sole source of our distribution system) were non-detect for PFAS. These results are consistent with the sampling done at that location, which were also non-detect. Since Dec. 3, 2021, the Navy water distribution system has been sourced only by the Waiawa Shaft. Water from the Waiawa Shaft, located 6.2 miles from Red Hill, remains safe and is monitored under the interagency-approved long-term monitoring plan for the Navy water distribution system to ensure it meets DOH and EPA standards for safe drinking water.
Navy Proposes Fuel Pipeline Removal – On May 31, the Department of the Navy submitted the second supplement of its Red Hill Tank Closure plan to the DOH. As part of the Navy’s continuing effort to demonstrate that the tanks will never again be used for fuel or any other hazardous substances, the supplement details the Navy’s plan to remove all three fuel pipelines — equaling approximately a combined 10 miles of pipelines — which were required to transfer fuel between, fill and drain the 20 Red Hill fuel tanks. The supplement can be read at https://cnrh.cnic.navy.mil/Operations-and-Management/Red-Hill.
Flow Optimization Study for Red Hill Shaft – In response to feedback from the Hawaii community, the Navy is conducting a flow optimization study at the Red Hill Shaft to determine if the system can be pumped at a reduced usage while still meeting the capture zone requirements identified in the State of Hawaii’s Emergency Order of May 2022. Prior to April 2022, the Red Hill Shaft pumped up to 5 million gallons of water per day, which was then pumped through granulated activated carbon filters. Coordinating with DOH, the Navy reduced pumping to 3 million gallons of water per day on May 1, and then to 1.8 million gallons a day on May 23. The water is tested on site, both before and after it passes through the filters, and then is pumped into Halawa Stream; the DOH approved a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit Jan. 27, 2022, for these operations.
The results of the study, which uses information gathered from the Navy’s groundwater monitoring wells, will be analyzed and shared with DOH and EPA to determine if a reduced pumping schedule can still meet the requirements of the Emergency Order and could result in up to a 60% reduction in pumping to an average of 1.8 million gallons per day.
Drinking Water Long-Term Monitoring - The Navy completed Period Five of the interagency-approved Drinking Water Long-Term Monitoring (LTM) plan, and the water remains safe to drink. In coordination with the DOH, the final summary of results has been posted to the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) Safe Waters website (www.jbphh-safewaters.org). Data collected from January to June 2023 across the 19 Navy water distribution zones shows that drinking water continues to meet EPA and DOH standards. During this sampling period, three locations had elevated detections of lead, two residences and one school. There was also one elevated detection of Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate at a third residence. Also known as di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate or DEHP, it is frequently used in the production of polyvinyl chloride or PVC, and is not a known component of JP-5 fuel. With DOH's approval, the Navy flushed and re-sampled the affected facilities, and final sampling showed no exceedances. These four exceedances were the only exceedances out of 1,350 samples taken across all zones during Period Five.
Online Tool for Groundwater Monitoring – The Navy recently added an interactive dashboard on the Environmental page of the JBPHH Safe Waters website (www.jbphh-safewaters.org) that allows users to view groundwater data from its groundwater monitoring wells dating back to October 2016. The dashboard includes an instructional video to help users navigate the site, which allows sorting sample results by well location, contaminate, analyte group and screening level. The Navy currently tests for approximately 116 contaminates, or analytes (chemical subject that is being analyzed), from 36 groundwater monitoring wells in the vicinity of the Red Hill facility. Sampling results from the groundwater monitoring wells are shared with the DOH and the EPA as soon as the results are validated by the laboratories. The DOH makes the data available on their website at: https://health.hawaii.gov/ust/red-hill/update-may-6=2021-release-monitoring-data-posted-weekly/.
More information on the Navy’s water system is available at https://www.jbphh-safewaters.org.
For more information on these actions, go to the news section of http://www.navy.mil/jointbasewater.
For more information about the facility and to read the Red Hill Defueling and Closure plans and supplements go to https://cnrh.cnic.navy.mil/Operations-and-Management/Red-Hill.