Petroleum contaminants still detected at Ford Island residence after it was flushed
- Protect Our Aquifer HI
- Feb 14, 2022
- 2 min read
By David Hixon / KITV News
Feb 12, 2022Updated
Eddie Dowd
HONOLULU (KITV4) – High levels of petroleum contaminants were still detected in a Ford Island drinking water sample taken by the U.S. Navy even after the flushing of residential and non-residential buildings in the area.
The sample was taken from a residence after the flushing process, but still showed the presence of two different total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) relating to diesel and oil at emergency response levels.
According to the press release, the emergency response criteria for TPH is 200 parts per billion. The sample from the Ford Island home showed a TPH-diesel range of 259 parts per billion, and a TPH oil range of 209 parts per billion.
he Interagency Drinking Water System Team (IDWST), which is made up of the Navy, Army, Environmental Protection Agency, and Hawaiʻi Department of Health, decided to reflush and resample the home.
The IDWST is investigating the matter and has asked the Navy to resample homes nearby, but noted in the press release that this was the only sample taken from the area after flushing that exceeded emergency response levels of petroleum contaminants.
According to the press release, the IDWST will review all resampling results before submitting their findings to the Hawaiʻi Department of Health.
The Hawaiʻi Department of Health’s public health advisory remains in effect for all navy water system users, instructing residents to avoid using the water for drinking, cooking, or oral hygiene.
The water contamination crisis has been ongoing since a leak from the Navy’s long-troubled Red Hill Fuel Bulk Storage Facility led to the detection of fuel in numerous Oʻahu residents’ drinking water. A State emergency order to close the facility amidst public outcry and concerns of mismanagement is being contested by the Navy. There are also multiple pieces of legislation on the State and federal levels aiming to defuel the subterranean tanks at Red Hill.
For more information on water recovery efforts, please see: https://www.cpf.navy.mil/JBPHH-Water-Updates/.
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