Navy Releases Remaining Month 1 Long-Term Drinking Water Data, Shows No Fuel Contamination

From DVIDS, 06.10.2022

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii – The Navy, in coordination with the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH), has released the first month of long-term monitoring (LTM) drinking water data for the final seven zones on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) on the https://jbphh-safewaters.org website.

Summaries and laboratory data for the first month of LTM sampling results for all 19 Navy water distribution system zones are now available, following a final review by the DOH. Since the Navy began long-term monitoring on March 22, there have been no detections of JP5 contamination in the Navy water system.

The final seven zones are now posted on the following Safe Waters pages: Hale Moku, Hokulani (Zone D1) here; Hickam, Hale Na Koa, Officer Field Area, Onizuka Village (Zone D2) here; Makalapa (Zone E1) here; NEX, Moanalua Terrace (Zone F1) here; Catlin Park, Maloelap, Doris Miller, Halsey Terrace, Radford Terrace (Zone F2) here, and Aliamanu Military Reservation (Zones H1 and H2) here and here, respectively.

LTM results for the other zones had previously been posted on their respective pages: Pearl City Peninsula (Zone A1) here; Ford Island (Zone A2) here; Iroquois Point (Zone A3) here; McGrew and Halawa (Zone B1) here; Sub Base (Zone C1) here; Hale Alii, Marine Barracks, Hospital Point (Zone C2) here; Shipyard, Hospital Point (Zone C3) here; Earhart Village (Zone D3) here; Hawaii Air National Guard (Zone D4) here; Camp Smith (Zone G1) here; Aliamanu Military Reservation (Zone H3) here, and Red Hill Housing (Zone I1) here.

Under an interagency-approved flushing and sampling plan, the Navy water system is now in a two-year period of LTM. This includes testing about 6,000 more samples from roughly 55% of residences and other facilities on the system for more than 60 different contaminants.

Under the plan, the Navy is sampling 5% of homes and other buildings in each zone of the Navy water system for the first three months after the DOH amended that zone’s health advisory (a total of 15% in each zone after three months). After that, 40% of all homes and other buildings on the system will be sampled over the following 21 months. All schools, child development, and medical centers will be sampled regularly during both phases of the plan.

In addition to summary reports for each zone, specific sampling results for the homes and other buildings that were sampled are posted within each zone. Results are grouped by category, such as residences, other buildings, schools, and child development centers, and listed by street address.

Sampling locations for homes in each zone are chosen as a geographic representation of the zone, based on their location on the neighborhood distribution system. Different homes will be chosen during each phase to provide a good geographic spatial representation of homes sampled.

All results are validated to state and federal drinking water requirements, including the incident-specific parameters (ISPs) set by the DOH for the Navy water system.

Sample results are generally categorized as non-detect, detect, or exceed. If a sample exceeds action levels for contaminants, the resident or building point of contact will be personally notified.

The following information is provided to help interpret the data:

• Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) tests look for many petroleum-related compounds and are done in addition to standard drinking water tests.

• Total Organic Carbon (TOC) is a measure of the amount of organic compounds contained in a water sample, many of which are naturally present in the environment, but which also can be an indicator of contamination, including petroleum or other sources. TOC itself has no health effects. However, TOC provides a medium for the formation of disinfection byproducts.

• Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) are established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and are the maximum permissible level of contaminants in water which is delivered to any user of a public water system.

• Environmental Action Levels (EALs) are established by the Hawaii DOH and are concentrations of contaminants in drinking water and other media (e.g., soil, soil gas, and groundwater) below which the contaminants are assumed to not pose a significant threat to human health or the environment. Exceeding the Tier 1 EAL does not necessarily indicate that contamination at the site poses environmental hazards but generally warrants additional investigation.

• All values are in parts per billion (ppb), which is equal to micrograms per liter (µg/L).

• The Method Detection Limit (MDL) is the lowest concentration at which an analyte (chemical subject that is being analyzed) can be detected in a sample.

For more information on these actions, go to the news section of http://www.navy.mil/jointbasewater.

For more information on long-term monitoring of the Navy water system, go to https://jbphh-safewaters.org.