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Navy’s water main break repairs to take up to 10 days; Iroquois Point school to close Monday

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
                                Navy Capt. Mark Sohaney, commander of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, discusses the water main breaks affecting over 90,000 people during a news conference Friday.
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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

Navy Capt. Mark Sohaney, commander of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, discusses the water main breaks affecting over 90,000 people during a news conference Friday.

Repairs to the Navy’s broken water mains on Oahu will take an estimated seven to 10 days, Navy leadership said, but gyms, pools and most child development centers will remain closed.

The state Department of Education, meanwhile said Iroquois Point Elementary School will be closed Monday

While the military delivered water for consumption, hand washing and cooking, but “there is insufficient water pressure on campus to flush toilets, which presents a health and safety issue,” DOE officials said tonight.

In a livestreamed virtual town hall this afternoon, Capt. Mark Sohaney, commander of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, provided the timeline to fix three water mains in the Navy’s water system that all ruptured Friday.

The main breaks, part of a water system connected to 93,000 people, have prompted a boil-water advisory, led to fluctuations in water pressure, and closed a variety of facilities.

Gyms, pools and 11 of the Navy’s 12 child development centers, which together serve 5,000 children, will be closed Monday, Sohaney said.

The Wahiawa Annex CDC will remain open, as it’s supplied by a different water system.

Affected schools other than Iroquois Point Elementary School will be open today. DOE officials announced Iroquois Point Elementary’s closure in a news release after Sohaney initially said all schools would be open.

The Red Hill fuel unpacking, or pipe system defueling, also has been delayed until the broken water mains are repaired, Joint Task Force-Red Hill said.

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