(ConservativeHub.com) – On November 29, US Navy officials collected more than a dozen water samples throughout the Navy’s Hawaii-based distribution system after receiving complaints. Thirteen of the samples tested negative for pollutants. However, the Navy’s Red Hill well showed that the water was contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. The Navy promptly shut down the well, but not before residents felt the dangerous water’s impact.
Military.com, a news resource for military members, reported several hundred families living in military housing in Honolulu, Hawaii, awoke to strange-smelling water with an oily luster.
A military spouse, identified only as Hanna, said she didn’t notice the smell until after she started experiencing nosebleeds and her child came down with diarrhea. According to her, it reeked of “gasoline” or “kerosene.”
Hundreds of military families living near Pearl Harbor have complained of stomach pain, nausea and other health ailments after the Navy's water system became contaminated by petroleum. https://t.co/PRDZy7yzO6
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 3, 2021
Initially, the problem seemed confined to US Navy personnel and families living and working at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. However, housing residents at Aliamanu Military Reservation reported experiencing similar symptoms, including vomiting, headaches, and rashes.
The Honolulu Water Supply Board announced its decision to close one of its wells on December 3. The well shared an underwater aquifer with the military, and the board wanted to make sure the contamination didn’t spread.
The Associated Press reported that the Navy’s Red Hill well is located near an underground WWII-era underground fuel tank complex. Other leaks have been linked to the complex in the past.
The Navy set up a webpage providing continuous updates and information regarding the contaminated water supply at www.cpf.navy.mil/JBPHH-Water-Updates.
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