Navy system residents fight boil water advisory, say they’re ‘not surprised’

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – 93,000 users along the Navy’s waterways remain under a boil water advisory and protection.

Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam Commander Mark Sohani said they did not have an estimated time for repairs, but expected to have more information by Sunday morning.

“We are moving at a safe speed, slow smooth and smooth as safe,” Sohani said.

Excavation continued Saturday at Waiau’s 36-inch main break, which Sohani said is a complex site.

“It takes time, it’s very complicated,” Sohani said. “It’s like any municipality, right? These systems are big, and when something like this happens, you have old infrastructure, new infrastructure, it’s very complex and difficult.”

“And we just want to get it right.”

The second break-in at Salt Lake Boulevard and Namur Road is isolated and safe, the commander said. While the third break in the joint base application is small.

These major breaks forced schools, child development centers and businesses to close on Friday.

Sohani said Saturday’s focus is to find out what Monday morning is like.

“So we’ve had my staff reach out to all of our tenants and all of our water users to make sure we understand the impacts,” Sohani said. “Right now, I expect we’re going to be on some sort of mission critical staff until further notice.”

“I think figuring out what it’s going to do, the quote, the repairs, the water breaks that happened should become a big priority,” said Amanda Zawieruszinski, who lives on Halsey Terrace. “It’s interesting that they had three water breaks in one day.”

Zawierushinski received water from the water distribution site at Navy Exchange on Saturday.

She said they haven’t used their dishwasher since November 2021.

“This is what we use to wash the dishes,” Zawierushinski said, holding up the bucket. “That’s why I told you, unfortunately, we’re not surprised we’re in a different situation.”

For any questions or concerns, Sohani said to call the Emergency Operations Center, which is open 24/7, at (808) 448-2570.

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