Red Hill water crisis
Interior of the Red Hill Underground Fuel Storage Facility in 2016 | |
| Date | November 20, 2021 – present |
|---|---|
| Location | Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam and urban Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 21°22′26″N 157°53′38″W / 21.37389°N 157.89389°W |
| Type | Groundwater contamination (various petroleum products) |
The Red Hill water crisis is a public health crisis and environmental disaster caused by fuel leaking from the Red Hill Underground Fuel Storage Facility into the freshwater aquifer underneath the island of Oʻahu. Residents in military housing in and around Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam began reporting chemical contamination in their tap water near the end of November 2021, and the Hawaiʻi Department of Health advised residents to stop using their tap water on November 29, 2021. All residents of the area (not just military housing) were unable to use their tap water until the following March, after their water system was flushed of contaminants.
The fuel spill from the Red Hill facility also forced the shutdown of several water sources operated by the Honolulu Board of Water Supply that provided drinking water for urban Honolulu. Due to uncertainty about the spread of fuel contamination underground, these water sources will remain shut down indefinitely, which has caused a shortage of water for Honolulu residents. Voluntary water usage reductions were announced on March 10, 2022, and compliance has avoided the imposition of mandatory water restrictions as of May 2022.