HONOLULU BOARD OF WATER SUPPLY FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST THE NAVY FOR DAMAGES TO WATER SUPPLY

News Release from Honolulu BWS, July 1, 2025

HONOLULU – Today, the Honolulu Board of Water Supply 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.

“This is not an issue that will be solved quickly or cheaply.  Every action must be taken to protect the purity of Oʻahu’s water, and it is only right that the Navy assume financial responsibility for its actions that put water purity and safety of everyone on Oʻahu at risk and caused harm to the BWS,” says BWS Manager and Chief Engineer Ernest Lau.

According to BWS Board Chair, Nāʻālehu Anthony, “Litigation was our last resort and comes after months of futile negotiation with the Navy, an attempt to recover costs administratively under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) and the Navy’s refusal to pay for any of the costs incurred by BWS, even while the Navy has publicly acknowledged its responsibility for this disaster and subsequent contaminant releases.  Our steadfast commitment to the protection of the purity of Oʻahu’s water resources, and our obligation to our ratepayers for responsible fiscal management compelled us to take this action.”

A copy of the complaint can be found on the BWS website at https://www.boardofwatersupply.com/redhill/filing.

About the Board of Water Supply

The Board of Water Supply (BWS), a semi-autonomous agency of the City and County of Honolulu, manages Oahu’s municipal water resources and distribution system.  As the largest water utility in the State, the BWS serves approximately one million customers on Oahu.  The BWS embraces its mission of “Water for Life – Ka Wai Ola” – to provide a safe, dependable, and affordable water supply, now and into the future.  Uwē  ka lani, ola ka honua – “When the heavens weep, the earth lives.”  For more information, visit www.boardofwatersupply.com, follow @BWSHonolulu or like the BWS’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/BWSHonolulu.

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SA: Honolulu Board of Water Supply sues Navy for $1.2B over Red Hill fuel leaks | Honolulu Star-Advertiser