Critics say Navy fuel tanks threaten crucial Hawaii aquifer
The U.S. Navy has 20 large underground fuel tanks that sit on top of one of Honolulu’s most important aquifers.
Some residents and local water utility officials want the Navy to move the World War II-era tanks somewhere else, especially after one tank leaked tens of thousands of gallons of jet fuel into the ground in 2014. But the Navy views the tanks as a vital strategic asset that would be difficult to replicate elsewhere.
The aquifer supplies about a quarter of the water consumed in urban Honolulu, which includes the tourist mecca Waikiki.
Each tank is about as tall as a 25-story building. They are in two rows of ten 3 miles from Pearl Harbor.
The Navy is working on a 20-year plan to better prevent and detect leaks. AP