Navy continues work on broken water main

U.S. Rep. Ed Case, who on Monday inspected the site of a break in a 42-inch pipeline that provides the main source of water for Pearl Harbor and other Navy properties, said he is urging senior Navy officials at the Pentagon to immediately implement an already appropriated replacement project.

“This one line services much of the vital water needs of some 92,000 people throughout Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and beyond,” he said in a release. “Restoring normal water service as soon as possible and preventing future disruptions is critical not only to all who live and work on base and in related defense facilities, but also to overall mission readiness throughout the Indo-Pacific Command.”

Case reviewed emergency repairs to the 65-year-old pipeline that transmits water from the Navy’s Waiawa well to the joint base. With that link severed, basewide water needs are being met temporarily from the Halawa and Red Hill wells.

“This emergency drawdown from these other wells taps into one of Honolulu’s main aquifers for civilian use as well and is not sustainable over time,” Case said.

A $78 million full replacement project was included in the current fiscal year military construction budget and is out to bid to private contractors, Case said.

“However, the president has instructed the Department of Defense to review all pending military construction projects for potential diversion of appropriated funds to pay for his southern border plans as part of his emergency declaration,” he said.

Crews are working more than 20 feet below surface level to replace a section of the steel pipe, which developed a crack and flooded the immediate area Thursday behind the Pearl City Home Depot store.

Most Navy water users are on restricted water use until the pipe is fixed. “We’re looking at several more days, probably,” said joint base spokesman Chuck Anthony.