Jennifer Cinco Kelleher
Associated Press
HONOLULU (AP) — A famous Hawaiian motto, ola i ka wai, means “water is life.”
The Native Hawaiians saw water in all its forms as an incarnation of one of the four main gods in the Hawaiian pantheon.
Resources are so precious, and having them in abundance means prosperity. The Hawaiian word for water – wai – is repeated in wealth – waiwai.
So when the Navy confirmed that oil from one of its tank facilities leaked into tap water at Pearl Harbor, many Native Hawaiians were not only concerned, but hurt and offended.
“This is the worst attack on a public trust resource in Hawaiian history,” said Kamanamaikalani Beamer, a former trustee of the Water Resources Stewardship Council.
Late last year, nearly 6,000 people, mostly living in military housing at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam or nearby, fell ill after oily water gushed from their taps.
Residents are concerned that the wider island of Oahu’s fresh water is also at risk because the aging tank system sits above the aquifer that provides drinking water to much of the island and has a history of leaks.
The Navy is working hard to solve this problem. But many say it has deepened distrust in the military that dates back to at least 1893, when a group of American businessmen, backed by the U.S. Marine Corps, overthrew the Hawaiian kingdom. More recently, Native Hawaiians have fought on Kahoolawe Island and the Makua Valley west of Oahu to deter targets from practicing bombing.
“The military has long mismanaged Hawaii’s natural and cultural resources,” Carmen Hulu Lindsey, chairman of the board of directors of the Office of Hawaii Affairs, said in an email response to questions. “After the military ravaged our sacred sites, the people of Hawaii have been left behind time and time again to clean up — from unexploded ordnance and toxic waste to the loss of cultural and historic sites and endangered species — without even setting aside resources to fund it. these efforts.”
For some, water pollution was the last straw.
Kavina Ulla Kalakapawa, a native Hawaiian political science doctoral student and one of the activists pushing to close the tank facility, said the crisis “undermined trust in the military.”
“I think that’s really pushed people to the edge because we all need water to survive,” Kapava said. “And I think it’s a very scary thought for people that their children or grandchildren may never be able to drink the water coming out of the tap.”
When Navy officials announced to lawmakers in January that the Navy would not continue to oppose Hawaii’s order to refuel tanks, they appeared to recognize the mistrust.
“I understand that the people of Hawaii, especially the Native Hawaiian community, have deep ties to the lands and waters of Hawaii,” said Rear Adm. Blake Convers, deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, noting that he lives near Hawaii. and lasted for more than eight years.
Rear Adm. John Kolka, commander of Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, also mentioned his ties to the islands and shared the churches he worshipped in Hawaii and the Catholic schools his children attended while they lived in Hawaii. “It’s a personal matter for me, and I’m sorry.”
Using 2019 census data, the Office of Hawaii Affairs estimates that there are 3,439 Native Hawaiians serving in the military in the United States, representing 0.8% of the total adult Native Hawaiian population in the United States
Many see value in the state’s relationship with the military, which also offers civilian jobs that are considered ideal substitutes for service jobs in the tourism industry.
Native Hawaiian Vietnam veteran Shad Kane said he was troubled by the polluted water, but it didn’t test his confidence in the military. His trusty pickup truck has a special Hawaiian license plate indicating he is a military veteran. He plans to transfer the license plates to his new Toyota Tacoma.
“Yes, I’m troubled by that, but I also know the Navy has a bigger responsibility,” Kane said. “The Navy wants to do the right thing.”
The Navy has not yet determined how the oil got into the water. Officials are investigating a theory that jet fuel spilled from a ruptured pipe last May and somehow made its way into the drain of the fire suppression system. They suspect that fuel then leaked from a second pipe on November 20, sending it into a drinking water well.
The Navy has been trying to remove oil from contaminated wells and pump it out of aquifers. Officials also flush clean water through the Navy’s water system, which serves 93,000 people in military homes and offices in and around Pearl Harbor. Meanwhile, the Navy placed affected military families in Waikiki hotels.
Beamer, a former water commission trustee, has been calling for the tanks to be decommissioned since 2014, when one of them leaked more than 27,000 gallons of fuel.
The Navy “assured us that nothing like this would happen,” he recalled. “They would never risk their lives. … They drink from the same aquifer.”
Following an initial boycott, the Navy said in January it would comply with Hawaii’s order to remove fuel from the tank facility, which is used to power many of the U.S. warships and aircraft that patrol the Pacific. But in February, the Navy appealed to the court.
Navy officials will continue to work with the Native Hawaiian community, listen to and learn from them, Rear Adm. Tim Cotter, commander of the Hawaiian Naval Area, said in a recent statement.
“We know we still have a lot of work to do to earn the trust of the entire island community, especially Native Hawaiians,” he said. “We will continue to work tirelessly to restore community trust and safe drinking water for our families and neighbors.”
U.S. Rep. Kaiali’i Kahele, a combat pilot who serves as an officer in the Hawaii National Guard, invoked the Hawaiian word hewa to describe water pollution in the Navy, which can mean guilt or error. He also called it an “astronomical crisis.”
He traces the roots of his Native Hawaiian family to a small fishing village near the southern tip of the Big Island of Hawaii, where there was no running water and residents depended on the rain.
The elders instilled in him that every drop was precious.
“All life begins with having healthy fresh water,” Kahler said.
