Ariana Wyatt and her husband have always strived to provide the best for their 3-year-old daughter, Indy Rose. Over the last few months, however, Wyatt told Spectrum News that the contamination of the water supply for those living near and working at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam has made that impossible. 

“They have damaged my family’s health … my once-very happy and healthy little girl is now having her hair fall out and is unable to do activities she once did without feeling exhausted,” said Wyatt, 30, who moved to Hawaii in February when her 33-year-old husband was stationed on the island of Oahu as a part of his service with the U.S. Air Force. 

Wyatt and her young family are just one of the nearly 4,000 "family members" the U.S. Navy reports have been affected, as of Dec. 17, by the November 2021 release of roughly 14,000 gallons of a mixture of water and fuel. In a Nov. 21 statement, the Navy said that the mixture was released “in the drain line for the fire suppression system in the tunnel downhill of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility.” It also asserted that the pipe is not connected to the Red Hill Fuel tanks, that the mixture had not been “(released) into the environment,” and that the drinking water was safe to drink.

“It was days that they were telling us, ‘It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s fine,’” said Wyatt of the response they got from the Navy after military families began reporting that their drinking water smelled of gasoline in late November.

In the weeks since, the leak has been traced to the Navy’s Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, where nearly two dozen WWII-era fuel tanks are located underground and are able to store several million gallons of fuel. The Navy has since stopped all work at the facility as an investigation into the spill continues. 

The tanks are connected to pipelines that transport the fuel to piers at Pearl Harbor-Hickam, which are then used to support U.S. naval operations in the Pacific.

“This is not acceptable and the Department of the Navy will take every action to identify and remedy this issue. We will continue to coordinate with federal, state and local entities to restore safe drinking water to the community,” said Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro in a press release issued on Dec. 8.

Wyatt said that she and other military families can’t help but be skeptical of the Navy’s promises and are focused on sharing their stories to ensure that those responsible are held accountable and that this never happens again. 

“If we just keep talking about it and pressing the issue, maybe they will feel that pressure?" said Wyatt. "Right now I still think that [the Navy] thinks they can get away with it. How can we trust the guidance that we get, when it’s from the people that poisoned us?" 

According to a report filed by a Hawaii Health Department Hearings Officer on Dec. 27, “There have been numerous reported releases from the Red Hill Facility over the past 80 years or so: at least 76 incidents involving nearly 200,000 gallons of fuel." 

The report issued by David Day, who is also a state deputy attorney general, noted that the “Navy is not reliable with respect to monitoring whether leaks are occurring, determining how much fuel is released into the environment when leaks occur, and ascertaining threats,” but added, “The Navy obviously does not want the Red Hill Facility to release fuel, and the Navy is trying to prevent releases. But despite everything the Navy is attempting to do, it is not enough."

Wyatt told Spectrum News that as a result of the latest leak at Red Hill, her family has experienced a wide range of health issues that persist. 

“My husband began experiencing gastrointestinal issues … I was sent to the ER with severe diarrhea and side pain. I was told that my right kidney was swollen. I have had severe headaches and a skin rash and our beloved cat was sent to the ER unable to walk, hold down food, or control his own bowels,” said Wyatt, who also reported that her cat was saved by a veterinarian but only after several emergency procedures which have cost her family hundreds of dollars in unplanned vet bills.

What has caused Wyatt the greatest concern and heartache is the impact the contamination has had on her daughter.

“She developed this lump in her throat and she kept crying … [the doctors] did an ultrasound and said her thyroid was inflamed …They said they have never seen a 3-year-old with her thyroid numbers so high. They were 98 and a high for a healthy adult is 5,” Wyatt explained.

Day’s report, which proposed that the Navy should comply with an emergency order issued by Hawaii Health Department earlier this month to empty the storage tanks at the Red Hill facility, lists the impact the spill has had on residents and they mirror those reported by the Wyatt family. 

“The water coming from their taps into their homes was not just mildly contaminated but poisoned with fuel," the report reads. "The Navy did not provide sufficient warning; people discovered for themselves that the water was poisoned based upon strong odors of fuel emanating from the water, or when they or their pets got sick. Men, women and children became seriously physically ill. Pets became ill,” Day stated. 

In response to the report, the U.S. Navy’s Chief of Information Rear Admiral Charlie Brown said, “We are aware of the proposed decision and have no further statement at this time.”

Day’s report also notes that the lives of those impacted by the fuel leak have “been and continue to be totally upended.”

Wyatt told Spectrum News that among the military families who have been relocated as a result of the contamination, that the level of frustration and the continuing instability they are experiencing depends on which branch of the military those families are associated with. She explained that for some of her neighbors, the process of relocating to hotel rooms has been complicated and confusing.

“The Navy has offered two options for families being temporarily relocated from Navy housing — government-procured lodging or self-procured lodging,” said Lieutenant Commander Marissa Huhmann, who is with the U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs office. The Navy also has a website dedicated entirely to the water crisis, which offers information to affected families on a number of issues, including booking hotel rooms. 

The website also offers instructions for families to file damage or loss claims for personal items that may have “damaged or destroyed due to fuel contaminated water."

But Wyatt points out there are restrictions and limitations to the relocation options, which she said has forced some families to move hotel rooms every couple of days. 

“Civilians who live in our neighborhood were left with no clear guidance on what they could do. It has been an absolute mess and a whole lot of ‘we will figure that out and get back to you’,” Wyatt said. 

The Navy has acknowledged that some families, who have opted for temporarily living in hotels, have needed to relocate multiple times. They explained that this was due to a lack of room availability during the holiday season and said that temporary lodging allowances “may have been exceeded due to unusually high holiday rates at certain hotels thus requiring a move.”

“Our liaison officers continue to work with families to ensure they are satisfied with their accommodations,” said Lieutenant Commander Huhmann of the Navy’s efforts to assist families with alternative housing. 

Faced with the choice of staying put at their home in the Hickam Communities Housing Development or relocating, Wyatt and her family have had no choice but to stay after failing to find a hotel that would accommodate the family's two large dogs. 

“A lot of hotels here have a weight limit for pets and we have two big dogs and a cat," said Wyatt. "We love them and we would love to take them with us but we can’t find a hotel that is accommodating of all of us."

The family does, however, make use of a hotel room so they can take showers and wash their clothes. 

When the family is at home, they are unable to use the tap water — even to wash their hands. 

“We use this makeshift bucket from Home Depot to wash our hands. Brushing our teeth or anything needing water, is done with a water bottle,” she told us. 

Wyatt added that military families can also go on base to get jugs of clean water and said that the company operating her housing development has also offered resources, including a daily case of bottled water for all residents. 

Still, Wyatt said she wishes she had the choice of “being able to break the lease with housing” or for “the military to give people the option to be reassigned."

Spectrum News reached out to Lendlease, which operates Hickam Communities, about possible options for the Wyatt family. 

“I’ve asked our general manager on the island to reach back out to the [Wyatt] family and understand their exact circumstances. We have, on a case-by-case basis, allowed that to happen," Phillip Carpenter, the Chief Operating Officer at Lendlease, said in a phone interview. 

Ultimately, Wyatt said that her biggest issue, aside from issues with her daughter's health, is with the Navy because she isn’t confident they will be held accountable for the spill. 

Wyatt said that, so far, she believes it has been to the Navy’s advantage that the water crisis is happening thousands of miles away from the contiguous United States. 

“I would like to see the Navy be held accountable for their complete negligence and failure to warn their own people and the local community that the water was contaminated with fuel. I would like to call on President Biden and the Secretary of Defense to shut down Red Hill fuel tanks,” she added. 

While official decisions and appeals on the situation at the Red Hill facility will last at least several more weeks, Wyatt said that they have been told that it will take between 30 to 45 days before they will be able to safely use the water coming into their homes again.  

The Navy has posted periodic updates online documenting the ongoing “flushing process” to clear any tainted water out of the systems that feed into homes near Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam. But those reports are of little assurance to Wyatt, who said that this entire experience has made her, and others, skeptical of the Navy and question whether their well-being is really a top priority. 

“I do not believe our water will be safe in 40 days. As long as the Red Hill fuel tanks stay active, the water will never be safe,” said Wyatt. 

The Navy has acknowledged these feelings and has tried to reassure families. 

“I know there are concerns that we have not been transparent with the results of our testing and our procedures. You have my commitment and promise that the information that we provide is the most accurate information that we have available,” said Secretary Del Toro.

Earlier this month, the Hawaii Department of Health came to an agreement to partner with the Navy and Army to work together to restore safe drinking water to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

Spectrum News reached out to Hawaii’s two U.S. Senators and two U.S. Representatives for comment on the developing situation at Red Hill, but they did not respond. 

On Tuesday, Rep. Kaiali’i Kahele, D-Hawaii, tweeted, “What has transpired at #RedHill is hewa. As one of Hawaii’s voices in Congress, I am committed to resolving this crisis."  

Last weekend, Kahele also tweeted, “While thousands of military families are without water and forced from their homes, Deputy Assistant Secretary Balocki added insult to injury by downplaying the #RedHill crisis. Our service members, their families & the people of Hawaii deserve an apology.”

The older tweet was accompanied by two photos showing a letter addressed to Secretary Del Toro which referenced the “insulting and offensive comments made by Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy, James Balocki.”

Kahele was referring to comments made by Balocki at a hearing on Dec. 20 when he was asked whether the situation at Red Hill qualified as a crisis and responded the events were “not a crisis.”

In a press release issued on her website on Dec. 20, Sen. Mazie Hirono wrote a joint statement with Rep. Ed Case, Rep. Kahele and Sen. Brian Schatz, which said that they applauded "the Department of Defense Inspector General for announcing their "intent to open an evaluation into the operation, maintenance, safety and oversight of the Navy's Red Hill bulk fuel storage facility."