As a retired research hydrologist who spent my career at the Environmental Protection Agency studying how contaminants move through ground- water, I’ve reviewed the laboratory reports and pilot study data from Red Hill. The Star-Advertiser’s Feb. 26 story, “Red Hill: Fears Linger over Navy Reopening Water Shaft,” raises serious questions. But the concerns extend far beyond what was covered there. This is not just about whether the Navy’s plan to reopen the Aiea-Halawa Shaft is safe, but about whether the community has ever been told the full story.
The Navy says it is committed to transparency. The data suggests otherwise.
In fact, an extensive review of the laboratory reports from the critical time period of May to November 2021 reveals that the Navy had knowledge of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in the Red Hill Shaft at levels exceeding Hawaii Department of Health screening criteria — benchmarks used to flag potential risks to human health. Yet this information was not reported to regulators until months later, and the Navy continued using the shaft in the interim. Had the Navy acted on these warning signs and shut down the shaft when contamination first exceeded those thresholds, the November 2021 exposure may have been avoided.
Large fuel spills that reach groundwater, like the one at Red Hill, do not disappear rapidly. Even as natural processes break down some hydrocarbons, the byproducts that remain are just as toxic and persistent. Pumping contaminated groundwater, as the Navy has done with Red Hill Shaft since 2022, can remove some dissolved fuel components, but it does not eliminate the underlying source:liquid fuel trapped in soil and floating on the groundwater. As a result, contamination can persist for years — and may resurface or increase once pumping stops.
The Navy and some commissioners have noted that the Aiea-Halawa Shaft is not adjacent to the Red Hill Shaft. But proximity is not the issue — subsurface contamination does not respect boundaries drawn on a map.
Despite the ongoing risks, the Navy wants to reopen the Aiea Halawa Shaft as a backup source of drinking water for the base and parts of the community. This shaft was shut down in December 2021 — officially described by the Navy as a precautionary measure. But data from the Navy’s own pilot study show that the shaft was heavily contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons at that time. In a 2025 pilot study, the Navy concluded that treated water from the shaft could be made safe. But more sensitive testing of treated water still detected fuel-related hydrocarbons associated with jet fuel. Detecting these compounds during a short-term test raises serious questions about whether contamination could persist or increase over time with continued pumping..
The Navy plans to reopen the Aiea-Halawa Shaft this year. Before that happens, state regulators and the Commission on Water Resource Management should require long-term testing using more sensitive analytical methods that can identify fuel-related compounds at low concentrations — methods that go beyond standard EPA drinking water tests.
The pilot study data already show traces of jet fuel compounds in treated water after a short-term test. The thousands of military families and residents still living with the consequences of 2021 deserve clear evidence — based on long-term, transparent testing — that the water is truly safe.
Eva Davis is a volunteer with the Environmental Protection Network.
