On Nov. 28, 2021, households served by a military water system adjacent to the Navy’s Red Hill fuel storage tank facility began reporting a fuel odor from faucets and illnesses after bathing in or drinking the water. More than a year later, the Department of Defense opened a clinic for military families affected by the tainted Red Hill water on Jan. 3 — but civilian households that had been exposed, including residents of Kapilina Beach Homes, were excluded.

That wrong has now been corrected, with a DOD designation of eligibility for civilians with symptoms tied to the contaminated water. The delayed action, however, is unconscionable.