Hawaii businesses deal with Red Hill water contamination crisis

About 15 food operators in the Pearl Harbor NEX Food Court are still temporarily shuttered while the Navy works to resolve water contamination caused by a jet fuel leak from its Red Hill underground fuel tanks.

A sign outside the venue on Wednesday said, “Due to recent water supply issues in the community and out of an abundance of caution, the Pearl Harbor NEX has decided to temporarily shut down our Food Court operations.”

The state Department of Health has said water samples taken from the Navy’s Red Hill shaft on Dec. 5 contained total petroleum hydrocarbons associated with diesel fuel that were 350 times above levels that the state considers safe. The Navy has been working to flush out and clean its distribution lines.

A frustrated Pearl Harbor NEX Food Court tenant, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution, said the mandatory business closures, which went into effect Dec. 1, probably affect a couple hundred employees.

“It’s hard when you have to furlough and lay off employees, many of whom are military spouses, at the holidays,” the tenant said. “It’s also tough to lose 100% of your revenue.”

The tenant said this latest closure is all the more difficult because it follows at least three pandemic- related closures.

“December is normally the best month, so it’s make-it-or-break-it time,” the tenant said. “We’ve been told that Jan. 5 is the tentative reopening date for the NEX Food Court, but we don’t understand what will have changed between now and then.”

The tenant said businesses have asked Hawaii’s congressional delegation for federal support.

While rent at the exchange is based on the percentage of sales, tenants still have maintenance fees to pay. More employees out of work means that businesses might pay higher unemployment insurance taxes in the future, the tenant added.

“We just want to be made whole,” the tenant said.

Madeleine Russak, a spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D, Hawaii), said Thursday, “Senator Hirono is taking all steps to understand the impact the water contamination is having on businesses, and plans to meet with businesses in Oahu next week. The Senator has engaged with the Navy to understand the claims process and actions the Navy plans to take to ensure all businesses are made whole. Senator Hirono is committed to ensuring that businesses do not bear the burden of this crisis.”

Hirono on Thursday also joined U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz (D, Hawaii) and U.S. Reps. Ed Case (D, Hawaii) and Kaiali‘i Kahele (D, Hawaii) in asking congressional leaders for immediate assistance in securing federal funding to respond to the water contamination crisis at the Red Hill bulk fuel storage facility.

The tenant said Pearl Harbor NEX Food Court businesses also want an explanation for why the Food Court is closed when the Navy Exchange, the Navy commissary and businesses at the Moanalua Shopping Center have been allowed to continue operating.

“There’s no concrete evidence of contamination, and we weren’t given a choice to close or stay open using alternative water sources,” the tenant said.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser asked the Navy to respond, but officials did not provide their comments by a print deadline.

The situation is dramatically different at the nearby 64,000-square-foot Moanalua Shopping Center, which is home to more than 30 businesses that provide dining, shopping and other services in the center.

The center, which is extremely close to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, is leased and managed by MMI Realty Services Inc. But the Navy owns the land underneath the center and supplies water and sewer utilities to the property.

A representative of Moanalua Shopping Center told the Star-Advertiser on Monday that “some of our food and beverage businesses have successfully sourced water from outside venues and are still open.”

However, the representative said several center tenants made the decision to close, after they were notified Nov. 30 that the Navy water system had been potentially contaminated by the Red Hill shaft.

The center was informed by a tenant Dec. 2 that an employee had smelled fuel in the water.

“We immediately reached out to the Navy and also sent a notification to all of our tenants on property of this report from one of our tenants,” the center representative said. “The Navy sent a representative to the center that same day to meet with a tenant who was concerned about the contamination and also took samples of the water in their establishment.”

The representative said that the center has asked the Navy to provide potable water, but was told that “all the freshwater resources are currently being directed toward the more than 90,000 family members who have been displaced.”

The representative said the Navy is looking into alternative sources for those on its water system. However, the representative said the center has not been made aware of how long the situation will continue and is “urging its tenants to prepare for alternative, long-term clean water sources.”

The Moanalua Shopping Center representative said the center is “hopeful that the tenants that have elected to close will be able to reopen.”

“Everyone is concerned about how this situation affects the businesses,” the center representative said. “Any negative impacts on our tenants and their businesses are impactful and even more so while navigating them in tandem with the pandemic. “

The Star-Advertiser noted Wednesday that the center’s McDonald’s, Taco Bell, KFC and Starbucks were temporarily closed.

Elijah “Solo” Solomon was sorely disappointed to find a closed sign at his neighborhood Starbucks.

Solomon read the sign aloud as he took a photo, “Please accept our apologies.”

“I don’t want your apologies, I want your coffee,” he said.

Center restaurants that found other water sources and were still operating included Tex 808, Yummy’s Korean BBQ, Ruby Tuesday, Loco Moco Drive Inn, Ramen Ya and the Koa Pancake House.

Fast-food restaurants in operation included Panda Express, Jack in the Box, Subway, Baskin-Robbins and Jamba Juice, which had posted a sign on the door that said, “We are not affected by the Navy’s water issue since we are using an alternative water source.”

Khole Ringor and two friends from Moanalua High School said they felt safe placing a Jamba Juice order and that they are saddened to see so many people and businesses affected by the Navy water issue.

“I know a few people who are laid off,” Ringor said. “I definitely feel that this could have been prevented with proper attention.”

Moanalua Shopping Center was quiet Wednesday despite the fact that most businesses were open.

7-Eleven, AT&T, GameStop and Jeans Warehouse were also open, as were Pigtails &Crewcuts, Dryclean Express, Great Clips, Hook Orthodontics, Nail Tek, Pearl Family Dental, Texaco and Verizon Wireless.

While businesses at Moanalua Shopping Center are thankful to be open, some have been frustrated by the shortage of information about how the Red Hill contamination affects their water source. They also wonder how long they must shoulder the additional cost of importing water.

Dina Santos, office manager at Hook Orthodontics, said no one told the office that it was on the Navy’s drinking water line. She said she called the Navy on Dec. 2 and got conflicting accounts. The first Navy representative said it was not on the Navy’s drinking water system. She said she kept asking questions and was transferred to another person in the Navy, who confirmed that the office was on the drinking line.

Santos said patients aren’t affected because the clinic is giving them bottled water to rinse.

A spokesperson for Panda Express said its Moanalua Shopping Center location is bringing in 75 gallons of fresh water delivered thrice daily from Panda Express locations that are not affected by the contamination.

Alvin Chen, manager of Loco Moco Drive Inn, said the location is bringing in approximately 10 5-gallon water bottles daily.

“When we were told by the shopping center manager that there could be petroleum in the water, we immediately found another source,” Chen said. “After the vaccine, business has been coming back. We didn’t want to close.”