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Community urges delay to Aiea/Halawa shaft reactivation as dye tracer and models remain incomplete
Summary
Public commenters and commission members urged the Department of Health and federal regulators to delay reactivating the Aiea/Halawa drinking‑water shaft, citing dye‑tracer results that showed unexpected westerly flow and an incomplete University of Hawaii groundwater model; speakers called for more testing and written justifications before any reactivation.
Public commenters and several commission members on Nov. 19 urged state and federal regulators not to permit reopening the Aiea/Halawa (Aiea Halawa) shaft until additional field work and modeling are completed.
Speakers cited a dye tracer study presented at an earlier meeting and said the tracer’s detected movement was unexpectedly westerly — toward the Aiea/Halawa shaft — rather than the direction assumed in early Navy models. Commenter Susan Grama Chang said the study showed a westerly flow and argued that “there are so many unknowns that it would be negligent to allow the Aiea/Halawa Shaft to be reopened.”
The concern was repeated across multiple testifiers. Wayne Tanaka and other participants asked whether reactivation plans and filter tolerances account for potential contaminant “slugs,” whether groundwater transport models have been validated, and whether the dye tracer study and the University of Hawaii model — both cited by commenters — will be completed and publicly reviewed before any permit decision. A commenter also said the dye tracer work will not be finished until next spring and asked whether reopening would wait for those results.
Navy officials and regulators did not make a short‑term commitment at the meeting to defer a reopening. Commissioners requested written follow‑up from Navy and regulator staff. Multiple speakers asked that any written decision from the Department of Health director include the scientific basis for reopening and be provided to the FTAC members and the public.
Why it matters: The Aiea/Halawa shaft is part of drinking‑water infrastructure that would change the system’s hydraulics if reactivated; commenters said early models may not reflect field observations and that reactivation without sufficient field verification risks mobilizing contaminants toward population‑served wells.
What was asked and by whom: Testifiers pressed DOH and EPA to explain whether pre‑2021 exposures, tracer results, and an incomplete transport model had been weighed in decisions about reactivation. They asked whether the director of health would authorize reopening by year’s end and requested a written technical justification if so. The commission recorded a request to have Navy/NAVFAC confirm whether certain tanks had been inspected and cleaned after the November 2021 contamination event.
Next steps: Commission members asked agencies to publish formal written responses to the technical questions raised, to provide the dye tracer data and modeling timelines, and to explain the technical triggers for unplugging treatment filters when they decide a shaft can be reactivated. The meeting record indicates those responses will be posted online.
