HOʻONAʻAUAO (Theology)
​We are committed to living and articulating theological foundations that are Biblically based and that reflect the unique expression of ke Akua here in Hawaiʻi.
HOʻONUI ʻIKE (Education)
We are committed to ongoing education about the history, culture, people, and ʻāina of Hawaiʻi.
KŪKULU (Advocacy)
We are committed to being present in our communities and to equipping our students, staff, and ministry partners with tools to become better allies and to actively engage in issues of justice, advocacy, and community building.
ʻOHANA (Family & Community)
​We are committed to journeying together as an ʻohana who values and honors the diversity of ke Akua present in each of our (individual and collective) identities.

Kapūkakī - Standing in Protection of Oʻahu's Wai ​(Freshwater)

CLICK HERE for ongoing PRAYER REQUESTS + ACTION ITEMS.
CLICK HERE to join our email list for PRAYER + ACTION updates related to our wai (freshwater) and the U.S. Navy’s Bulk Fuel Storage Facility at Kapūkakī. 
​
In the 1940s, the U.S. Navy built the "Red Hill" bulk fuel storage facility at Kapūkakī on the island of Oʻahu. The facility is comprised of 20 underground tanks, each 250 feet tall, storing over 100 million gallons of fuel. These fuel tanks sit just 100 feet above the main aquifer for the island of Oʻahu, which supplies drinking water to over 400,000 residents, not including tourists and visitors, from Hālawa through Maunalua (“Hawaiʻi Kai”).

​The public was not informed that these tanks existed until decades after they were built. Since their construction, over 180,000 gallons of fuel have leaked.

Click Here for a Timeline of Events

More recently....

January 2014
27,000 gallons of fuel leaked from a single tank.

November 2021
14,000 gallons of diesel and jet fuel leaked, contaminating drinking water and causing severe illness for military and civilian families. Initially, the Navy assured residents that the water was safe; however, sick residents and water sampling conducted by the Board of Health led to the shut down of the Navy's Red Hill shaft, as well as the Honolulu Board of Water Supply's Hālawa Shaft.

Recognizing the threat the underground tanks pose to Oʻahu's drinking water, Hawaiʻi's governor and Department of Health put forth an order requiring the U.S. Navy to: suspend operations at the "Red Hill" facility, install a drinking water treatment system in affected areas, and defuel the tanks within 30 days. In response, the U.S. Navy contested the order and refused to comply.

December 2021
The Red Hill Shaft, which provides drinking water to approximately 93,000 people, was found to contain diesel levels 350 times the safe drinking limit. In spite of this, the U.S. Navy formally contested the order, focusing on localized filtration efforts rather than moving the fuel, which remains a direct threat to the aquifer (the freshwater supply for the island of Oʻahu) just 100 feet below the facility. Information surfaced that the Navy failed to report petroleum contamination detected as early as July 2021. The report of the hearings officer referred to the facility as a “metaphorical ticking timebomb." He went on to share that “the Red Hill facility has already damaged human health and the environment and inevitably threatens to do so into the future” stating that the Navy “lacks the ability to control the substantial risks associated with the Red Hill facility.”

January 2021
The Board of Health upheld the state order that the Navy defuel the tanks. The U.S. Navy agreed to comply with the order, but stated that it was not ruling out further legal action. It is important to note that de-fueling the tanks in compliance with the order does not ensure that the fuel will not be returned in the future. 

We continue to contend for the permanent shut down of the Red Hill bulk fuel storage facility, the decommissioning of the underground tanks, and the protection of our wai (freshwater), ʻāina (land, that which feeds), and people. CLICK HERE for ways you can be praying. 

For more information, see:
 CLICK HERE for ongoing PRAYER REQUESTS + ACTION ITEMS.

CLICK HERE to join our email list for PRAYER + ACTION updates related to our wai (freshwater) and the U.S. Navy’s Bulk Fuel Storage Facility at Kapūkakī.

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