FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Litigation was a last resort and comes only after BWS’s filing of an administrative FTCA claim in October of 2023 which was denied by the Navy on January 10, 2025. BWS is obligated to take all reasonable, necessary, and responsible actions to protect Oʻahu’s critical sole source drinking water supply from contamination and to minimize the burden on Oʻahu water ratepayers for BWS’s past, current and future response, mitigation, restoration, and remediation costs incurred as a result of the Navy’s contamination of the drinking water supply and impact on BWS’s water sources.

 The statute of limitations for filing the complaint ends on July 10, 2025.

The Navy has caused BWS to incur significant past, ongoing, and future costs to respond to the Navy’s actual and threatened contaminant releases. To protect against and limit contamination of its own water sources, BWS made the difficult but necessary and reasonable decision to shut down the Hālawa Shaft and the ʻAiea and Hālawa wells. And, in keeping with its commitment to responsible stewardship of Oʻahu water sources and protection of those who use and consume BWS’s drinking water, BWS also implemented enhanced water quality testing, started planning for additional groundwater monitoring wells and development of replacement wells, and shifted to alternate water sources to make up for lost water supplies, all in response to the Navy’s contaminant releases. The cost to replace these wells and take other actions to respond to the Navy’s releases from Red Hill make up the total amount of damages the BWS is seeking to recover from the Navy in this litigation.

The BWS and its legal team will now follow the court process for these types of claims, which will be decided by a Federal Judge. There is no timetable for a final decision– we expect litigation to last at least a couple of years if not longer. We also anticipate there will be requests for information, documents, depositions, and motions for legal rulings. To learn more, see our FTCA Filing information page.

We do not have any timeline for when this matter will be resolved. However, we expect the legal proceedings to take at least two (2) years. We also anticipate there will be requests for information, documents, and depositions, as well as motions for legal rulings. A final decision from the judge and any potential appeals could take even longer.

Given the dynamic nature of litigation, it is not possible to provide an accurate estimate of the costs BWS will likely incur to resolve this dispute, especially since the Navy’s litigation conduct will significantly affect the litigation costs incurred by BWS. 

The Red Hill Bulk Fuel Facility continuously stores 187 million gallons of fuel in 70+ year-old tanks that are located just 100 feet above a State designated drinking water aquifer. The BWS uses water from this aquifer to serve residents from Moanalua to Hawaiʻi Kai. Navy studies show the groundwater underneath and within close proximity to the tanks is already contaminated with petroleum chemicals. These studies also document leaks dating back to 1947, continuing corrosion of the tank liners, and the risk of a large catastrophic fuel release. If such a release occurred, it could pollute the aquifer and our water supply for many years.

The situation at Red Hill poses a threat to existing BWS wells that are presently not contaminated. If these wells ever became contaminated, for instance by a catastrophic, large volume release from Red Hill, then water rates would need to increase to pay for treatment to remove the contaminants from the water. If the situation involved a very large release, the cost to treat could become prohibitively expensive as to render the wells and aquifer unusable for decades to come. In the event this occurred, existing BWS wells unaffected by the incident do not have the capacity to make up the difference, resulting in long-term water moratoriums. Water rates would need to increase to pay for alternatives to take the place of the water loss. Since water rates apply to all BWS customers island wide, everyone would end up paying for what happens at Red Hill.

Fuel from the tanks that leak into the groundwater can eventually spread to neighboring wells because the groundwater is always moving. The amount of fuel contamination in the aquifer and how quickly it spreads depends on the volume of fuel released into the groundwater. A large volume of fuel released into the groundwater due to a major pipe or tank failure will contaminate the groundwater much faster, in greater amounts and over a larger area than fuel that is slowly leaking from the tanks.

Not at this time. However, Navy studies show contamination is present in the groundwater underneath the tanks. This contamination can move in the groundwater and spread to neighboring wells in the area.

Petroleum hydrocarbons and various related chemicals such as, total petroleum hydrocarbons as diesel (also called TPH-d), naphthalene, 1- methylnaphthalene, 2-methylnaphthalene, toluene, benzene and lead.

A catastrophic fuel release could occur as the result of structural failure of the tanks caused by an earthquake. This could result in more than a million gallons of fuel released into the groundwater and potentially several million gallons to Hālawa Stream and Pearl Harbor.

The BWS would immediately shut down our Hālawa Shaft and Moanalua Wells. The BWS would then impose a water moratorium in Honolulu. The Navy's Red Hill Shaft would also be shut down, creating a water shortage for Pearl Harbor. A large fuel leak would render the groundwater aquifer unfit for drinking for decades as treatment alternatives in such a scenario would be ineffective and costly.

To protect the aquifer's long-term ability to provide safe drinking water, the BWS urges the Navy, EPA, and Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH) to:

• double line the Red Hill tanks. If not, then relocate the tanks away from the potable water aquifer;
• meet the same EPA and DOH regulatory requirements imposed on all other Underground Storage Tanks; and,
• clean up the fuel that is already underneath the tanks to reduce the long-term threat to other wells in the area.

Many leaks have occurred in the past, and the most recent in January 2014. Tank tightness tests currently performed annually by the Navy cannot rule out the presence of any slow chronic leaks that may be occurring below the test’s ability to measure. Slow leaks can release up to 4,400 gallons of fuel per year per tank. Groundwater testing conducted by the Navy since 2005 continue to show petroleum contaminants present in the groundwater underneath Red Hill at levels that, in one case, has exceeded Hawaii DOH environmental action limits. This contamination could have been caused by the 2014 reported leak, earlier leaks, or more recent unreported leaks. Navy studies also show rusting is occurring on the backside of the tanks that can lead to through wall corrosion producing a tank leak. If the Navy continues its standard practices, the rusting will continue and likely lead to more frequent and larger leaks in the future.

No. The Hawaiʻi DOH has jurisdiction and regulates underground fuel tanks in Hawaiʻi.

In 2016 BWS contracted toxicology experts to determine the health significance of low-level petroleum chemicals in drinking water and their health effects. The study determined that levels below 100 parts per billion (ppb) [same as micrograms per liter] of total petroleum hydrocarbons as diesel (TPH-d) in water is safe and protective of public health. Consuming water containing TPH-d levels at or below 100 ppb is not expected to produce toxic effects. Research studies show the health effects of high levels of TPH-d can cause changes in red blood cell counts and noncancerous liver and kidney changes. Based on these results, BWS strongly urges clean-up of the groundwater underneath and surrounding the Red Hill tanks and to use 100 ppb as the minimum clean-up level. This 100 ppb level is also a taste and odor threshold and environmental action level (EAL) established by DOH.

Yes. There are federal and state regulations that apply to all underground storage tanks. However, Red Hill is a field-constructed underground tank system that had been deferred from many of the requirements that must be met by smaller facilities. In 2015, the EPA revised the underground storage tank regulations. Unfortunately, the revised rules still exempt field constructed tanks like Red Hill from the regulatory requirements that must be met by all other underground storage tanks.

The public can stay current on news and updated about Red Hill on the BWS, EPA and DOH websites. On the BWS website, visit our Protect Oʻahu Water information page.