The Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) lifted its do not drink advisory for three more zones on the Navy’s water system.
This advisory includes McGrew, Halawa (Zone B1), Camp Smith (Zone G1), and a portion of Aliamanu Military Reservation (Zone H1), reported DOH.
The Navy water systems users can now use water for all purposes. The Navy water system’s source water is coming from the Navy’s Waiawa Shaft, which has been tested to verify that it is safe to drink. The Navy’s Red Hill Shaft is contaminated and has been disconnected from the water system, however.
DOH and EPA oversaw flushing operations and testing protocol to verify that contamination was removed from the drinking water system, according to DOH.
A sample collected from a home in Zone B1 initially tested above the DOH Incident Specific Parameter for bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP). The home was then re-flushed and re-sampled and after this occurrence, all sampled homes and buildings meet DOH’s DEHP screening level of 6 parts per billion (ppb).
Additionally, an independant, third-party laboratory incorrectly reported a false-positive regarding the presence of bis(2-chloroethyl)ether (BCEE) in samples in Zones B1 and H1. All locations where BCEE was initially detected were resampled.
The laboratory reviewed the original samples and the new samples and did not detect BCEE in any of them.
As for next steps, the Interagency Drinking Water System Team (IDWST) has a joint plan to draw samples from more than 900, or at least 10% of homes and 100% of schools and child development centers on the overall Navy water system. More homes and buildings will be sampled as part of a long-term monitoring plan.
Navy water system users can contact DOH at [email protected] or 808-586-4258.
