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Red Hill Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) Filing

BWS Files Lawsuit Against the Navy for Damages to Water Supply

JULY 1, 2025, HONOLULU – The Honolulu Board of Water Supply today filed a federal lawsuit against the United States Navy following the Navy’s releases of petroleum and other hazardous chemicals into Oʻahu’s critical, sole source drinking water supply. The Navy itself has acknowledged responsibility for the massive environmental and human health crisis caused by the November 2021 fuel release, but it has refused to accept responsibility for the costs that the BWS has and will incur to respond to the Navy’s contaminant releases.

Residents served by the Navy’s water system of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam suffered serious injuries from the November 2021 release, while the BWS’s ability to provide clean, safe, dependable water to Oʻahu residents was and is severely impacted.

To protect against contamination of its own water sources, BWS made the difficult but necessary and reasonable decision nearly four (4) years ago, to shut down its Hālawa Shaft and the ʻAiea and Hālawa wells. And, in keeping with its commitment to responsible stewardship of Oʻahu water sources, BWS implemented enhanced water quality testing, started planning for additional groundwater monitoring wells and shifted to alternate water sources to make up for lost water supplies, all in response to the Navy’s contaminant releases.

BWS past, ongoing, and future restoration, remediation and mitigation efforts are currently estimated to total approximately $1.2 billion. BWS board members have a fiduciary responsibility to minimize the burden of these costs to the Oʻahu ratepayers and instead to continue to hold the Navy accountable for its failure to prevent or adequately and appropriately respond to the Navy’s contaminant releases and pay for the costs incurred and to be incurred by the BWS in responding to those releases.

Related News & Updates:
- News Release: BWS Files Lawsuit Against the Navy for Damages to Water Supply
- BWS Files a Claim with the Navy under Federal Tort Claims Act
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