Column: Group calls for Oahu aquifer to be protected amid Red Hill water pollution crisis

Hawaii is highly dependent on its pure, fresh groundwater for both public and domestic water supplies. This supply is replenished by rain that seeps through our soil and volcanic rocks into underground aquifers. One of the many climate change threats Hawaii is facing includes changes in the intensity and frequency of rainfall that threaten our freshwater security.

The current crisis caused by the contamination of groundwater supplies at Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage is further bringing Hawaii back from its long-term water security goals; undermines decades of water management and conservation in the state of Hawaii and the city and county of Honolulu; and most importantly, it endangers the health and safety of our community. The serious threat posed by the fuel storage tanks has been looming for many years, despite ongoing concerns raised by the community, the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, the Hawaii Department of Health, and the Hawaii Commission on Water Resource Management.

We, as a leader in the water sector in Hawaii, are co-writing this letter with the Hawaii Congress delegation and Governor David Ige, urging the Navy to immediately cease operations at Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage and to work with state regulators to resolve the issue Mitigate contamination. We also urge the Department of Defense to provide funding to permanently eliminate the threat the fuel store poses to our water supplies and community livelihoods.

We also urge the Navy to ensure that regular water quality samplings are conducted and that past and future monitoring results and risks are quickly and transparently shared with the state commission for water resource management, the state Department of Health and the Honolulu Board of Water Supply.

Our hearts and aloha go to the families affected by this preventable tragedy.

The Navy must work with our state and county water agencies to protect the health and safety of our communities and the environment now and in the future. Our aquifers are irreplaceable.

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The Wai Maoli: Hawaii Fresh Water Initiative (FWI) was founded in 2013 by the Hawaii Community Foundation to bring together various parties to develop a forward-looking strategy to increase water security for Hawaii. The council represents various parties from government, nonprofits, agriculture, large landowners, private traders, academia and the military who all work together to protect Hawaii’s freshwater supplies and to ensure safe and reliable drinking water supplies for present and future generations.

Kaeo Duarte is Chairman of the Fresh Water Advisory Council and Vice President of the Community & Aina Resiliency Group at Kamehameha Schools. This was submitted on behalf of many council members.

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The following members of the Fresh Water Advisory Council co-signed this piece:

>> Kaeo Duarte, Kamehameha schools

>> Stephen Anthony, full member

>> Michael Buck, Commission for Water Resource Management

>> Suzanne case, Department of Land and Natural Resources

>> Meredith Ching, Alexander & Baldwin Inc.

>> Harold Edwards, ITC Water Management

>> Mark Fox, full member

>> Thomas Giambelluca, Water Resource Research Center (UH-Manoa)

>> Kaleo Manuel, Commission for Water Resource Management

>> Keith Okamoto, Hawaii County Water Authority

>> Jeff Pearson, Maui County Department of Water Supply

>> LeeAnn Silva, Queen Emma Land Co.

>> Barry Usagawa, Honolulu Board of Water Supply

>> Stevie Whalen, Hawaii Agricultural Research Center