3,500 gallons of wastewater spills at Pearl Harbor

Approximately 3,500 gallons of untreated wastewater spilled into Pearl Harbor this morning when an air release valve in a Navy distribution line failed.

According to a Navy media release the sewage leak began around 9:00 am near Lake Erie St./Hickam Bike Path when about 5,000 gallons of the untreated wastewater spilled from the distribution line, though the Navy said approximately 1,500 gallons was recovered before it spilled into the harbor.

Navy officials said the valve has since been secured and bypassed, that the rest of the spill has been contained and that the state Department of Health has been notified. The Navy Public Works Department environmental team will be sampling the water for bacteria levels.

The spill comes after Navy and the state have been at loggerheads over $8.7 million fine issued by the DOH in September over repeated spills and maintenance problems with the Navy’s wastewater system.

DOH spokespersons did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

State and federal regulators have been concerned about the Navy’s handling of wastewater on Oahu for years.

In June 2021 the Navy entered a Federal Facilities Compliance Agreement with the EPA requiring it make a series of repairs and upgrades to the facility by the end of 2024. But problems have continued.

On Sept. 27 the DOH fined the Navy for Clean Water Act violations, citing 766 counts of discharging pollutants into the ocean between January 2020 and July 2022; 212 counts related to operation and maintenance failures; and 17 counts of bypassing filters without authorization.

Just two days after getting slapped with the fine another spill of 1,000 gallons of wastewater poured into Pearl Harbor from a 12-inch wastewater line that broke.