JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii – The Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) amended the health advisory for Red Hill Housing (Zone I1) today, signifying water in this zone is safe to drink. This is the first of the 19 affected zones on the Navy Water System to have the health advisory amended. The DOH amendment is located here.
The lifting of the health advisory by DOH follows a conditions-based, iterative process, developed by the Interagency Drinking Water System Team (IDWST), to flush, sample, and test drinking water at both the distribution system and home/non-residential building levels. This process, detailed in the approved Drinking Water Sampling Plan, also includes several stages of data validation by the IDWST, composed of representatives from the Navy, Army, the DOH and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, before final DOH review and approval.
“Today is an important milestone as the first of 19 neighborhoods is restored to safe drinking water standards. We truly appreciate our residents' patience and the hard work of both the DOH and EPA in this effort,” said Rear Adm. Blake Converse, deputy commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet. “We are grateful for the continued collaboration among our service component partners and the agencies in our Interagency Drinking Water Systems Team to establish a recovery approach that was grounded in hard science and a comprehensive water testing regimen. We will continue to pursue the goal of restoring every neighborhood to safe drinking water standards in a safe and efficient manner.”
With the lifting of the health advisory, residents and occupants in the zone will be notified by military leadership that their water has been deemed fit for human consumption by the DOH. Residents and occupants will also be provided with additional transition details, including impacts to allowances.
For Zone I1, Task Force Ohana will re-establish the Emergency Family Assistance Center at the Aliamanu Military Reservation Community Center and will have personnel in the Red Hill Housing neighborhood available to support residents in this transition. The services at the community center will include resources to address finance, legal claims, Army Emergency Relief, Exceptional Family Member Program, and more. Additionally, an assessment and response team will be available to respond to any water-related concerns identified by residents after the move back to their homes. For resident or occupant questions, contact the Task Force Ohana hotline at 808-620-7938 or 808-620-7951.
For general project information, news and updates visit: http://www.navy.mil/jointbasewater
Zone-by-zone status and detailed testing information is available at: https://jbphh-safewaters.org