The Navy has finished repairing the first water main that broke Friday, Capt. Mark Sohaney, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam commander, said Wednesday at a news conference on the base.
The Navy now will slowly reintroduce water into the system to restore pressure and test for bacteria, Sohaney said. So far, he said, the Navy has not detected any bacteria.
Water samples will be sent to a “state-approved third-party laboratory” in Hawaii to test for bacteria, with results expected to be released within a few days. In a statement issued Wednesday night, the Navy said a boil-water advisory will be lifted when negative test results verify the water’s safety.
The Navy system’s water might smell of chlorine and pressure may fluctuate, Sohaney said. Also, fire hydrants will be opened to help equalize pressure.
As of Tuesday, the Navy repaired two other main breaks and isolated a fourth. A fifth break occurred in the Moanalua neighborhood. It was an irrigation line in a sprinkler system, according to JBPHH’s director of public affairs Chuck Anthony.
The broken water mains in the system serving some 93,000 users delayed the Navy’s plan to begin defueling pipelines at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Facility on Monday. About 1 million gallons of fuel have sat in the pipes since the facility suspended operations in 2021 after the fuel contaminated the Navy’s drinking water system.
Cmdr. Tiffani Walker, a spokesperson for the Red Hill Joint Task Force, said she intends to provide an update on defueling plans today.
The main repairs wrapped up sooner than expected, as Sohaney had previously estimated that they would be completed by Tuesday. The first and largest break occurred early Friday in a 36-inch water main at the Waiau Hawaiian Electric power station. Repairs were made to a 20-foot section of the pipe, which was built in 1951.
That break set off others as the Navy redirected water to smaller pipes. Separately, one main broke as a result of a car accident on JBPHH, at Salt Lake Boulevard and Namur Road.
The base’s child development centers, which were closed due to the main breaks, have reopened, Sohaney said.
