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The Halawa shaft of the Water Supply Commission has not been contaminated, but even if it is not permanently closed, it may be closed for many years.

The State Department of Health announced on Friday that a state test of the Navy’s Red Mountain Shaft found that the hydrocarbon content in gasoline and diesel oil was 350 times higher than the state-approved drinking water content.

The Honolulu Water Supply Commission separately disclosed the test results, indicating that the Halawa shaft in the city was not contaminated, but said that as a precautionary measure, the closure of the well may be extended for several years or even permanently.

The health department tested positive for “gasoline range organics” (also known as TPH-g) from the Navy’s water supply system, which contained 66 times the state’s drinking water limit.

The Eurofins laboratory in California found that the content in the sample was 20,000 ppb, while the national limit was 300 ppb.

The same test found that "petroleum hydrocarbon diesel range organics," also known as TPH-d, was 350 times higher than the state's environmental limits.

The California laboratory found that the TPH-d content in the sample was 140,000 ppb, while the state's environmental action level was 400 ppb.

The state test also found that the water from the Aliamanu Child Development Center contained traces of "petroleum hydrocarbon oil organic matter", which was below the state's drinking water threshold.

The Navy had earlier confirmed that its Red Hill shaft had tested positive for high-level oil and announced the results on December 2. As a precaution, the city closed its Halawa shaft within a few hours, shutting down 20% of its water supply. Residents stretch from Moanarua to Hawaii Kai.

The health department has ordered the Navy to empty fuel from the Red Mountain underground storage facility, which stores more than 180 million gallons of jet fuel about 100 feet above the city’s aquifer. The facility has the capacity to hold 250 million gallons of jet fuel in 20 78-year-old fuel tanks with a history of leakage.

“The longer the fuel stays there, the risk to our aquifers will continue to exist, and I believe it is increasing,” Ernie Lau, chief engineer of the Honolulu Water Supply Commission, said on Friday in the Honolulu Star Advertiser’s Spotlight Program.

The navy is contesting the health department's order. Navy officials have apologized for the contaminated water and promised to pay for replacement housing for all 93,000 affected residents.

Liu said the city has been testing the five wells closest to the Navy’s water supply system for the past eight years, but has never detected fuel contamination. The city is now testing these wells every week in response to the naval water crisis and the demands of Honolulu residents.

Although the bureau’s Halawa well test results are clean, Lau estimates that if the city continues to pump water from the Halawa well and the Navy’s Red Hill well does not, it will take six months to a year for the fuel to pass through the valley. The aquifer is pumped.

"We can't seize this opportunity," he said.

The Navy is still figuring out how its Red Hill shaft was contaminated. But Liu said that if the pollution level is high, the city may not be able to start using the Harawa River for a few years-if at all.

If the Halawa well in Honolulu is no longer in use, the Water Supply Commission will have to try to make up the difference by pumping water from its remaining wells. He said that voluntary water saving may become mandatory measures, including measures such as allowing irrigation only on alternate days or prohibiting washing cars with hoses.

"I hope we don't have to do this," he said.

He added, "We think it will be very difficult for the Navy to clean up the pollution, and it may take a while."

Since 2014, Civil Beat has been reporting on water tank leaks, water pollution, and political debates about Red Mountain. Read our report here. Click "Full Archive" to get a complete list of stories.

Liu emphasized the need to find out the source of pollution as soon as possible.

The Navy has three sources of water from aquifers, two of which are now out of service, which raises questions about how it will meet the needs of Navy customers who use 18-22 million gallons of water per day. As the water crisis continued, hundreds of families moved into temporary accommodation in hotels.

Liu expressed doubts about the Navy’s commitment to protect drinking water and expressed anger at the Navy’s opposition to the Ministry of Health’s order to empty the fuel tank.

"Their behavior was inconsistent with what they said," he said. This crisis made him "deeply saddened." This can be avoided. "

At a lengthy legislative hearing on Friday afternoon, Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, stated that he has been authorized to mobilize all navy resources to solve this problem and that he is responsible for solving the problem.

Paparo said he has asked to start planning to unload the fuel tank, including how and where to store fuel and the possible risks of transferring fuel.

He said that moving the tank itself is impossible, partly because it will be a "difficult effort", because each of these 20 tanks is 60 feet wide and 200 feet high, which is more than the Aloha Tower. high.

Paparo told lawmakers: "I can't tell you where we will ship fuel, but we are carefully planning where we will ship fuel."

Rear Admiral Dean VanderLey, commander of the Pacific Naval Facilities Engineering System Command, said his organization awarded a contract on Thursday night to “purchase two granular activated carbon water filtration devices that can filter up to 10 million gallons of water."

He said that the filter is currently on the mainland.

"We are coordinating military airlifts to bring them here as soon as possible," Van der Lai said, adding that 8 to 10 planes will be needed to transport them to Hawaii, and once they arrive here, it will take a huge effort to assemble them. They and put them into use.

His goal is to get them ready in two to three weeks. He said he is working with the Ministry of Health to determine where the filtered water should be sent.

"This will be clean filtered water that is environmentally safe," VanderLey said.

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