No clear timeline yet for repairs of broken water mains, Navy says

The Navy says it does not yet have a timeline for when it will be able to fully repair a broken 36-inch water main, leaving the 93,000 people who depend on its water system to continue conservation measures and keep boiling their household water until further notice.

On Friday morning, the Navy responded to the main break at Waiau Hawaiian Electric power station and two smaller leaks. Capt. Mark Sohaney, commander of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, today said more information on the “complex site” of the major break is required before a repair estimate can be provided.

The JBPHH Facebook page announced that Sohaney will be hosting a virtual town hall on the situation at 4 p.m. Sunday.

“We got our assessment team on site but we don’t have an estimated timeline of repair,” Sohaney said while speaking to reporters at the Navy Exchange parking lot, where personnel were distributing bottled water to affected residents. “It’s a complex site. It’s in a community, it’s right next to a stream, it’s right on a bike path, it’s next to the water. … I want to do this at the speed of safety.”

The Navy on Friday began distributing drinking water to residents of military family housing following the advisory telling them to boil their water before consuming it because of possible contamination. Residents are able to get 1 gallon of water person, per day.