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Environmental Program Areas » Drinking Water
In Hawaii, the primary drinking water supply comes from underground aquifers fed by rain-fall. As mandated under Federal and State law, water samples for chemical and biological parameters are taken at the water source and at various points within the distribution system for all drinking water systems serving our installations. If you reside in Army family housing, chlorine and fluoride are added to the water, as required by Army standards, before it is piped into the distribution systems and before it enters your home. Note that if you reside off-post, fluoride is not added to your drinking water as it is not a mandated requirement of the State of Hawaii - Department of Health.


USAG-HI obtains its drinking water through a combination of public systems and privately owned and operated systems.


Sampling results are summarized annually in the Consumer Confidence Report and must be distributed by July 1st each year. Aside from the drinking water contaminants detected the previous year, the CCR also contains a wealth of information about your water system including information about origin of the water, and the source of potential water quality problems.


Army Maintained Water Systems
Other Systems
Aliamanu - (Water comes from the Navy - Army maintains pumps and tanks)
PTA - Privatized system
Fort Shafter
KMC - Privatized system
Tripler Army Medical Center
 
Schofield Barracks/Wheeler Army Airfield
 
Helemano - (Water comes from Schofield and Navy systems)
 


Drinking water is managed in compliance with the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, State of Hawaii - Department of Health and Army regulations. USAG-HI drinking water operating permits have been issued, in perpetuity, by the Department of Land and Natural Resources.


  • 40 CFR Subchapter D, Parts 100-135 and 136-149
  • AR 200-1, Chapter 2
  • Department of the Army Pamphlet 200-1, environmental Protection and Enhancement, Chapter 2
  • HAR 11-20 Rules Relating to Potable Water Systems
  • HAR 11-25 Rules Relating to Certification of Public Water System Operators


The Safe Drinking Water Act requires all community water systems to provide an annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) to their customers. CCRs are designed to educate the public on the origin of the water, the source of potential problems and the steps used to ensure that the water is safe to drink. USAG-HI is providing this report as a service to the community in conjunction with this requirement.


If you have any questions about the Safe Drinking Water Program, call 656-3103.




• Not Applicable


All storm water related records can be found in the Environmental Library - Wheeler Army Airfield Building 105.

• General water conservation guidance for installation personnel is promoted through public education and outreach events.

• Each public water system in Hawaii (except for transient, non-community public water systems) must be under the responsible charge of an operator(s) holding a valid certification equal to or greater than the classification of the water treatment plant (WTP) or distribution system (DS).

WTP operators or DS operators in Hawaii must be certified by the Board of Certification of Public Water System Operators. Chlorination and fluoridation facilities can be operated by either certified WTP operators or DS operators.

Operators of WTP requiring treatment such as filtration, corrosion control and fluoridation must be certified. This certification must be renewed every other year.

WTP Classification: Aliamanu, Fort Shafter, Schofield Barracks, and Tripler Army Medical Center all have a Class 1 water treatment plant classification which represents systems that use slow sand filtration; chemical addition, such as for chlorination, fluoridation, pH control, or corrosion control; granular activated carbon filtration; or packed aeration towers or air stripping towers.

DS Classification: Aliamanu, Fort Shafter, and Tripler Army Medical Center all have a Class 2 distribution classification which represents distribution systems that serve water systems with a population of 1,501 - 15,000 persons.

Schofield Barracks has a class 3 distribution system classification because it serves a larger water system then the other installations. Class 3 represents distribution systems that serve water systems with a population of 15,001 to 50,000 persons .

There are two WTPOs responsible for all Garrison water systems and one DSO responsible for all Garrison distribution systems.

• Select "Training" from the left tool bar menu for more information on public water systems operators certification.


Per Federal and State requirements, USAG-HI notifies residents of drinking water exceedances within 24 hours or up to one year depending on the severity of the exceedance. U.S. Army Garrison - Hawaii's past exceedances are mostly attributed to sampling or lab procedure error.

Violations are broken down into the following three categories:

Tier 1: Indicates violations and situations with significant potential to have serious adverse effects on human health as a result of short-term exposure. Notice is required within 24 hours of the violation.

The notice will be delivered several ways in order to reach as many residents and workers in the affected area as possible. In the case of bacteriological sampling, for example, the Garrison will complete, within 24 hours of learning that an initial drinking water sample contains both total coliform and E.coli, door-to-door hand delivery of boil water notices to all residents/workers in the affected area.

If all of the repeat samples for total coliform/E.coli are negative, then the boil water cancellation notice will be delivered door-to door. If however, repeat samples for total coliform are positive, then the broadcast of a press release over local TV and radio stations will be completed within 24 hours of the repeat sample results. These notices will give detailed information on the exceedance and any needed precautions. A Hawaii Army Weekly article detailing the violation will also be published within 7 days of the violation. The Garrison will keep the residents and workers informed throughout this process and will inform all parties when any and all issues have been resolved and the water is again safe to drink.

Tier 2: Indicates violations and situations with potential to have serious, but not immediate, adverse effects on human health. Notice is required within 30 days, or as soon as possible, with extension of up to three months for resolved violations at the discretion of the State or primacy agency.

The Garrison will deliver the notice by mail delivery to consumers of the water system within 30 days of the violation. Likewise, a Hawaii Army Weekly article detailing the violation will be published within 30 days of the violation.

Tier 3: Indicates violations and situations not included in Tier 1 and Tier 2. Notice is required within 12 months of the violation, and may be part of a single annual report, including in some cases the annual CCR already required by EPA.

The Garrison will mail these notices within one year to consumers of the water system.

All exceedances have to be mentioned in the Consumer Confidence Reports for the specific water systems where they occurred. You can reference Garrison CCRs to see a summary of the exceedances that occurred at the specific installation where you live or work at: Program Documents




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