Honolulu utility shuts well to prevent fuel contamination

By AUDREY McAVOY
Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu’s water utility is shutting down one of its wells so it doesn’t pull petroleum from an underground aquifer it shares with the Navy and deliver it to its own customers. The move comes as the Navy grapples with a continuing crisis over fuel contaminating its tap water at Pearl Harbor. Nearly 1,000 military households have complained about their tap water smelling like fuel or physical ailments like stomach cramps and vomiting. The aquifer the Navy and the utility rely on is near a giant World War II-era underground fuel tank complex that has been the source multiple fuel leaks over the years.