Concerns Heighten After Navy Reports Second Water Contamination In Hawaii

The U.S Navy reported on Wednesday that they discovered a petroleum contamination of a drinking source at its Pearl Harbor base in Hawaii.

In a statement, the Hawaii Department of Health said the Navy discovered that the diesel fuel levels at the Aiela Halawa Shaft were more than double the department's limits for safe drinking water. The shaft is one of three groundwater sources providing drinking water to the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam water system that services military members and their families.

According to the Navy, the Aiela Halawa Shaft has been kept offline since last Friday. The Navy said testing at the shaft found 920 parts per billion of total petroleum hydrocarbons diesel range organics (TPH-d), double the 400 per billion that Hawaii deems to be acceptable.

“The level of this contaminant poses a public health threat, and is considered unsafe to drink,” said Hawaii's deputy director for environmental health Kathleen Ho. She added that the discovery was "concerning" and noted that the Navy's inability to figure out the cause made it especially so.

This is the second water contamination the Navy has reported recently. After the first reports that the Navy’s Red Hill facility was creating unsafe conditions for local drinking water, Hawaii’s Governor David Ige and the state's Department of Health ordered the Navy to suspend operations at the facility on Tuesday.

"We cannot have national security without ensuring public health and safety. There are still really important questions that need to be answered..," said Gov. Ige.

One day later, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro directed the pause of all operations at Red Hill until an investigation was completed.

"The safety, health and well-being of our service members, civilians, contractors, their families and our communities here in Oahu is of the utmost importance to me," said Del Toro in a statement, calling the findings at Red Hill unacceptable and pledging the Navy's support to "restore safe drinking water to the community."