How Military Jet Fuel Leaked Into Hawaii's Drinking Water 

As a drinking water engineer, this absolutely infuriates me. Providing clean drinking water is a sacred obligation, and people deserve to not worry about their drinking water. Those who covered this up deserve to be in prison.

Imagine what our military does in other countries if they can do this to our own citizens

The commanders who dismissed those civilians should be court marshalled. They knowingly destroyed thousands of lives, and for what? So they could save money on repairs? Hearing them dismiss those families' concerns is just infuriating and heartbreaking.

She's right she should have taken more notice when the cat wouldn't drink the water. Animals are very good at picking up when things are off. We sadly learnt that the hard way when my service dog suddenly didn't want to eat her expensive dog food. Being very well trained she would after being told to twice. I NEVER have to give her a command twice. That dog food had a brand recall on it & we only learned that when she had to go on for surgery.

She feels like a bad mother for something that’s completely not her fault The Navy was gaslighting everybody

This needs to spread like wild fire! Get it on major news outlets. We can’t demand better from other countries if we first don’t start holding ourselves more accountable for our own wrong doings. So messed up.

The most sickening part of stories like this is always the cover ups. It wouldn't make things right, but if those responsible just came clean from the start people would come together and do as much as they can to solve the problem, even if there is no easy/immediate solution. The cover ups not only exacerbate the potential health risks to people, but it's these type of lies that make it so nobody trusts the government or military.

Jerome Ensminger, the guy whose daughter died of cancer, he himself passed away in the last year. [No links allowed. Please see: "Democracy Now - Shows featuring Jerome Ensminger"] We need to keep this man's fight alive. May this brave hero rest in peace.

I lived in Hawaii my whole life and finally this is getting some national attention. Not only did they steal our native land but poison the people who been living there for generations.

I was born and raised here and the military has always shown a complete disregard for the needs and desires of Oahu residence when its inconvenient. They opened a live-fire ammunition training ground in Waimanalo, and old part of the town with a huge Hawaiian community that doesn't want to hear guns firing, they refused to return Makua valley, a sacred place to the Indigenous community that they promised to return in the 70's and just never have. They tested tons of bombs on Kaho'olawe making it uninhabitable and aren't even part of the clean up solution that will take generations. Honestly, the needs of the community seem completely secondary to whatever it is the military want to do here.

I was in the Marine Corps for 8 years...I swear every base we went they told us not to drink the water... im glad my unit was forth coming with that

I am an Environmental Science student in University and early in the last semester we were tasked to find current events related to environmental issues and my group found this one. We did so much research and still found so little, this barely got traction to those not in the area. I am glad this has come out and this is piss poor acts by the Navy.

This US military needs such a house cleaning. Issues like this, murders, disappearances, rapes... Absolute insanity.

That poor girl. What makes it even worse is that her dad works for the people who caused the pain to his family.

"an occupation" my heart bleeds for that poor man and his daughter. Tragic and avoidable.

Who would ever authorize the storage of fuel 100ft from a water source. That is just negligence!! This is very troubling information. Good on you for making this public!!

Coming from someone who currently lives on Oahu, was born and raised here. It is disappointing to see what Hawaii has come to in such a short amount of time. This devastating leak has caused many of us locals distress and it’s ridiculous how we couldn’t even trust our own drinking water. Due to this, we are now millions of gallons short of water and it will definitely take years for it to recover. It is also very disappointing how anyone refuses to take the blame as to how the leak was caused in the first place. Thank you Vice for spreading the news about this significantly oppressed topic.

Anyone who has been in the military in the last few years knows that a lot of service members drink only bottled water. There is a lot of distrust in on base drinking water from stuff like this, as well as poor sanitation and old plumbing.

When your cat stops eating/drinking something it is a super red flag. If the cat refuses to eat/drink something as essential as water stop drinking and buy bottled water. This is not a joke

You can tell the guilt that mother feels eats her alive everyday. Absolutely horrendous.

"Unscheduled fuel releases" what a freaking joke. These people are clowns, the engineers who keep building dangerous or precarious storage like this one over aquifers should be held accountable from now on . It's the future of generation that is in their hands.

Speaking as a military spouse on Oahu, who lives literally 5 minutes away from one of the clips shown in this video, they did a great job encapsulating what is going on here. It is worse if you can imagine. This doesn't even include all the pets who have died of which there have been MANY because of this Red Hill leak. An elementary school's water supply was contaminated-- Red Hill Elementary, and even people who don't live in base housing.

I was so glad we were no longer living on base when this was happening. My heart breaks for all the families who have been living under this. It's awful.

Yeeeppp not surprised by this, my sister had mold in her barracks and she complained for months, it was black mold, she cant smell to this day and can barley hear due to her sinuses, and the VA denied her claim for some compensation due to service connected ailments. But that isnt surprising either as some with gunshot wounds get denied.

There are multiple generations of kids that grew up on multiple bases who are now adults with chronic or terminal illnesses because of their loose handling of industrial chemicals. It's absolutely disgusting. The government has admitted the things happened, but even really strong and well funded cases against them for the lifelong damage they're dishing out has resulted in absolutely nothing. These people have been fighting for multiple decades to get some help with their health or compensation for the damages and nothing is going to happen.

Who Tf decided to put a giant fuel and oil reserve above where ALL THE WATER IS STORED?

This is heartbreaking. Thank you for bringing awareness to this issues(s).

After forced annexation, the spread of disease, stifling Hawaiian culture, almost killing off the Hawaiian language, causing mass unemployment and houselessness, bringing in drug abuse, pricing Hawaiians out of the housing market, how much more does this chain of islands need to endure. I’m so sickened by what we’ve done to Hawaii as a whole. Na ke akua e hoopomaikai ia Hawaii.

I was stationed in Hawaii (Schofield Barracks) from 2014-2019 (9 months in Korea). 3 weeks before my contract ended I was diagnosed with cancer. I truly believe either the water we drank or the moldy barracks we lived in had a lot to do with it.

I lost my MOS over this because I became so sick. Spent 8 months at a Nutrition clinic, 6 months at a GI clinic, insane headaches, unexplained inflammation in my stomach, rashes, swollen eyes, etc. My senior dogs were constantly sick, blood in their stool, etc. I was accused of malingering and constantly gaslighted by my Command. This finally came out MONTHS ago and the military has been fighting to keep it quiet. They told us we weren't affected for weeks after it came out before the DOH forced them to acknowledge it was BS. I had 5 masses pulled out of my back a few months back. We are SO angry and we feel so betrayed. The first thing the Navy did was flush the water out of the fire hydrants! Straight into the storm drains, straight into the ocean and the aquifer. No one is even now offering any support to the local population. The neighborhoods have been declared "safe" now but we are still seeing effects and sheen on the water. The lines are all contaminated! The Navy just doesn't want to pay out and fix it.

Born and raised on Oahu and seeing just how much changes has happened to the island breaks my heart. It takes so long for issues to be fixed. Or the issues are just pushed under a rug and forgotten. I’m so furious that this happened. My heart aches to all the families and fur babies that went through this.

Poor babygirl, that poor momma. I can even imagine what they were going through. I can’t get over how the government tries to hide something as big as this. The hawaiian islands have been through so much and continue to go through so much…. I hope everyone that’s been affected gets compensated and taken care of.

What’s frustrating about this issue is we as locals had been saying it for years to the government. However, when military families started complaining about it, their anger finally triggered a “change”. I’m glad, but frustrated.

The amount of money we spend on the military….. I have no words for how infuriating this is. The lack of accountability is insane. We just keep throwing money at them and they just waste it. Tighten the belt and make each branch start solving environmental, mental health and abuse issues that have been a plague for decades. They’re just a black hole for money.

Nothing frustrates me more about cases such as these than the fact they knowingly dismiss children’s health, safety and lives.

Thank you for bringing light to this!

This is by far one of your best pieces Vice News. Keep the quality work up.

I’m a water treatment plant operator and this is absolute negligence in the Navy’s part. They pencil whipped and tried to cover it. In the civilian world, for an operator like me, I would be prosecuted and everyone up the chain. Rightfully so. Navy had supervision of the water and the fuel tanks! That’s incredible. Typical military though. I was a CB(Seabee) in the Navy and i didn’t trust the UTs that treated our water. Not after getting diarrhea from drinking the water. Water is precious and vary scarce and it’s only going to get worse. Take care of it. What goes around comes around and I mean that very literally.

Don't forget flint Michigan is still waiting on clean water 10+ years

Thank you for addressing this issue

Imagine drinking jet fuel for decades just because u have military. I'd prefer to have no military. Water is vital for life.

The water was safe to drink? Sounds like something they said in Flint Michigan

This is heart breaking!

The military has been destroying the environment around Hawaii for over a hundred years. Not only did they choose to address to issue only because most of the afflicted were service members, but they also made no effort to tell the city itself when they found out and kept it secret. Additionally, the military regularly dumps hazardous waste around the waters of Oahu and has been since WW2. As recently as last year, they used the waters as a dumping site. They regularly use sacred Hawaiian land to test depleted uranium rounds in the valley beside Mauna Kea.

I work at a environmental science lab that’s been testing the water from here since November. I can’t believe this has been completely swept under the rug

My best friend is station there and she has been living in and out of hotels due to this. It hasn’t hit any major news outlets. This is insane!

This infuriates me as well. I live in Lake Jackson, TX and we recently had a 4/5 year old boy die from a brain eating bacteria due to playing in a man made spring pond. Not many months later, a tiny kiddo in Dallas/Fort Worth died of the same thing. We have hurricane waters that back flood our systems every few + years, but apparently, no one has done their jobs correctly or currently, and it lead to children dying. After the family sued the city for the neglegence, it has helped. They finally "back pump it" drain it, and refill it, on the reg. After dallas/fort worth had this same prob, I wouldn't be surprised if they take out those spring ponds/water spout pools all together. Clean water is not a new thing. Keeping it clean, apparently is a new thing. There is obviously a lot of lazy people working in water works. Any city can lay them off and give me their job. $14/hr 40 hours a week, as gross as it may be, seems pretty legit to me. 😉 I watched dirty jobs. I need one, and willing!

Heart breaking😢

I was in the Navy for 8 years and I can tell you they have no environment concern. I was on a ship for three years, I was a deck seaman and just as I became a third class in another department we were at sea and the deck department woke all of deck dept up in the middle of the night. They tried to make me go but I told them I was no longer working in deck. What it was they were dumping old cans of paint overboard. The head of the department were so stupid they left the papers on the cans so when they came on shore the country that they came up on got a hold of the Navy but wouldn't you know it only the lower ranks that got in trouble at captain's mast. I know that they were there and so yeah they were to blame but they were doing what they were told. Some people didn't get up or went back to bed but still had to go to Captain's mast so it was kind of a damned if you do damned if you don't situation. This was in the late 90's, so I am sure this would be more serious now but then it was just sort of punish the lower ranks and then that was it. I also know the port we were in had to go to the Navy because raw sewage was being dumped in the harbor, they fixed that right away but still it had been happening for awhile. I know because when I got there they told me to watch for two headed fish because of the sewage. I use to wonder why the military was hated by some in these ports now I see why. It is sad.

I can't imagine the pain and suffering for those families. Especially the mother of a three year old. The little girl didn't do anything wrong, and the mother is not at fault either. My heart aches at the idea that this can happen in the 21st century, in a supposedly modern country. I hope they get their pay out, and get the chance to live a healthy and prosperous life.

Oh my GOD this is unacceptable!

I am glad to see that some people are fighting back.

So sad how our government fails the citizens and even worse, the young and most vulnerable. Such a sad story. Accountability needs to be held and maintained. Between a paradise-like Hawaii and cities like Flint, and all the other people affected by fracking, we shouldn't be having issues like this. Another reason to move away from fossil fuels.

As someone with a thyroid disorder, I hope it’s some consolation to that mother that there is a lot that can be monitored and done for thyroid disorders and to prevent and stop thyroid cancer quickly. While they certainly deserve compensation and an apology (and their medical bills covered!) she shouldn’t feel guilty personally about that particular health problem. It wasn’t her fault. And she certainly hasn’t handed her daughter a death sentence.

Such an eye opening report by VICE! You found so many good sources who knows the truth! Listening to their words was just shocking! Feel so bad for their families!

Yep. Can confirm. Although I wasn't exposed through a military site, I was exposed in utero through a refinery, and I was born with malformations in my intestines that nearly killed me when I was 3 days old. Now I am 37 and I can't even begin to list the medical issues I have and will continue to deal with. Right now I am fighting another round of cancer. Wish me luck! My heart is with these families and their babies!! ETA: Oh momma, my mom had those same feelings. I had the same thyroid issues and you know what.. we got through it. I'm on Synthroid for the rest of my life, but I'm ok. And she will be too. Once you're back on the mainland, you can enjoy the rain again and in time you'll be able to explain everything. She's gonna be fine.

I live in military housing in Hawaii. I have experienced symptoms since June of 2021, so whatever leaks happened, I am betting happened a lot earlier than they have said. My family still only drinks bottled water, but we have to shower with the water from the house. I had a feeling something was wrong early on, I would be extra tired after running at track when I drank water, until I changed my flask for bottled water. I am so lucky to have done this around August, so I have less exposure. But really this situation needs more attention and needs to be looked at closer. I don’t completely trust everything is okay again.

US Government Incompetence...Hazard to Everyone's Health. The US Government needs to pay ALL these people Medical Expenses, Give Restitution, & Close the base permanently.

Breaks my heart

God bless you sir and so sorry for your loss 🙏😪🙏 Everyone involved 😪🙏😪

4:36 “350x the acceptable level”. How is there an acceptable level for fuel in drinking water.

When Ariana says “I wish we hadn’t come here” I feel her. I know that pain. The amount of times we have rethought. And the medication pile…we have that same pile. The unknown medical diagnosis of we don’t know why but here try this…all of our health issues started less than a year after moving to Oahu, we have now been here for 5 years. 💔 Many of us still see sheen in our water, Navy, DOD, and our government need to do better!

This is absolutely heart breaking! For this mama to blame herself for something that isn’t at all her fault….I know her daughter will grow up strong and healthy and know how much her mom loved and cared for her! My prayers are with them and everyone else affected by this negligence!

Military just treats you as a number, they could care less about you. Sickening

I live on base in Pearl Harbor and I only drink bottle water. The water is so bad that if I collect it you can sea the swirl of oil on the top of the water I really hope this get seen by the right people because I have to bathe in toxic water. I just hope there is no long term affects cause I know I could never win a law suit against the DOD

If I was a native hawaiian I'd be really pissed off...

prayers for all involved

When the mom talks about holding her daughter down for blood draws or medical procedures 😭I can relate to this so much It’s one of the most traumatic things to do as a mother. I would go into ‘mom mode’ and being very matter of fact and unemotional and calm and reassuring and just try to keep my energy stable on the way there and home but when the house was quiet and I was alone eruptions of emotions would pour out of me and I would cry relentlessly. To that momma- my daughter and I are best friends and one of her clearest memories was me telling her a story about the Easter bunny having to poop in the woods in an unplanned stop to visit children. I have NO idea what would have made me come up with such a crazy story other than my desperate desire to distract her. You’re not alone. You’re doing great. All my highest love to your healing together. I hope your lawsuits is just the beginning of your purpose from painjourney

this angers me. military families have enough to deal with let along being poisoned by army activities. in Hawaii no less. military families are given the short end of the stick for far too long.

Hawaii resident here since 2012. Active duty Navy from 2012-2016, still residing here, just outside the affected area and friend to a veteran who lives in the affected area with her husband who's still active with 4 children - this news story hits it right on the nose. From what I have experienced, observed, and learned from active duty and civilian life, this story scratches into the surface of the problem, but still only the surface. This is the 7th Fat Leonard Fleet. This is the Navy who's senior enlisted leader tells the crew of the ship that has a couple suicides a month to "lower [their] standards." There are some good eggs in there, but they don't last. Either ousted intentionally or worn thin by all the BS and self-serving corruption. Red Hill is an alarm bell to a much bigger, vast, systemic problem wherever military boots hit terra Firma.

When I was in the Navy, the ship I was on had a small spill of JP5. The water uptakes for the desalination picked some up. It wasn’t a heavy contamination, but just enough to notice an unusually sweet taste and your skin might get that extra clean feeling after a shower. I can imagine it did none of us any good in the long run. Many of us stopped drinking the water and it went into the shipyard shortly after. It is unlikely it was properly cleaned out, unless all of the plumbing was replaced.

All my life I thought Hawaii was like a heaven on earth. Today was the first time I’ve heard anything about this red hill water leak or anything like that and I hope that the people on that island get the answers they want. I will say a prayer that things change.

I spent 4 years drinking JP5 water onboard USS Kitty Hawk. They say I have bipolar disorder. I think it's a neurological disorder. There is also PD 680 solution that is one of the leading cancer causes for veterans.

The thyroid symptoms concern me, sounds similar to radiation exposure.

Vice: "there was fuel in the water, 350 times the acceptable level" Me: Hold up... There is an acceptable level???

When I lived on Oahu there were times we were told we couldn’t go swimming, we always bought bottled water and many, many, many of my friends have died of cancer, and other unexplained diseases that aren’t supposed to take out young people. 💔💔

I feel so bad for Hawaiian people having to deal with people trying to move there increasing homes value and so much more. Just terrible to see.

We’re one of these families living in this community right now. I’ve been so sick ever since we moved here in 2021. I’ve been suffering with massive migraines, my oldest is now on daily injections for a condition they can’t diagnose, my hair is falling out, nonstop diarrhea, my dog was recently diagnosed with cancer and threw up after she drank water EVERY TIME…it’s been awful. Even though we’re told it’s “safe” to move back into our home we still use bottled water for everything. I completely know how this mother feels. Knowing I unknowingly bathed my children in this contaminated water is the absolute worst feeling.

Praying for them… I’m sadden by this 💔

It’s sick that they sit in front of those people and their children and tell them it’s nothing to worry about and to just shutup about it.

In Pennsylvania in a city called Willow Grove there was an airforce base that was leaking jet fuel into the local water supply. People who live around this area have gotten cancer. The base was closed and I believe lawsuits have been filed. The Hanford Site leak in Washington is another serious problem.

100% if animals wont consume the water you shouldn't either..

Thank you for sharing this sort of news. Please don’t ever stop sharing what is extremely important for the public to know, even the “touchy” or possibly “triggering” stories. I feel for people with triggered issues, but watering down the truth is good for NO ONE. Stay true, Vice✌️

that poor man, I can hear the pain in his voice. I'm so sorry for his loss

This video is a perfect metaphor for how much our government cares about our health.

This is devastating, that poor family is suffering results of pollution, it’s incredible how such good people get affected by something like this when we got rich billionaires touching kids and stealing money…. This family is literally paying the price of life while serving their country 😞

22:20 couldn’t help but cry, truly heartbreaking what these people have been through

Praying for everyone effected ❤️🙏❤️ what a tragedy. Bless you all . 😥 what they do not tell you does hurt 😔

I want to hug that woman and tell her she is a great, loving mother. I just want her to know that anyone would be lucky to have her as a mother. She clearly feels awful about something that isn’t her fault because it hurt her child. I know forgiving yourself or not blaming yourself is difficult but, I hope one day she can see it’s not her fault.💔❤️

Really puts “freedom isn’t free” in a different light.

SO sad!

I have a feeling we will be seeing more episodes about how the drinking water isn’t safe in America, I live in Michigan and most of the tap water especially city water is disgusting and is probably loaded with bad chemicals. Also when they put up the visual of military sites with pfas chemicals i noticed a lot of them around the Great Lakes which is horrible

As a mother I totally understand her guilt. This is horrific and should not be happening.

"The United States Department of Defense is our nations largest polluter, without exception. Forget about DOW Chemical, forget about Exxon Mobile, forget about Dupont..."

I love listening to vice news and watching man they are real boots on the ground

My father was a vet that had leukemia when he died. He probably had it for over a decade before the VA recognized it, always thinking his elevated white platelets was due to some infection since he was diabetic with chronic wounds, but even years after his wounds had healed they still didn't caught the leukemia. He'd gotten really sick and just gave up on life mere months after learning of his diagnosis. All he had was a bad virus, but refused treatment and breathing aid stating that he just wanted to die. I've always been curious what and how this happened, but the VA, his care home, and the hospital he died at never really wanted to explore anything concerning his care. It always feels like a coverup to avoid accountability from all angles. He was mostly stationed in Panama, and I'm not certain how bad the water was here in Nebraska in the 80's, but I do know my sister and I have chronic endocrine issues. Makes me wonder, esp since the water here is terrible, if it's from our military bases or just really bad run off from all the agriculture polluting our water... or both.

Holy hell this is tragic and sad. That poor girl and her family.

Have billions of dollars for weapons and other hardware, can't even get a decent water supply.

Happened in Colorado Springs too (Fountain area)...military of course denied.

This is awful. My heart is breaking for this family. I hope they heal.