Research Log #1 - Solutionary Project 2022

Date: 4/4/2022
Name: Noah Ambrose
Essential Question: What happened with the Hawaii Red Hill Fuel Spill water crisis 2021?

Three Points to Prove: #1: It is important to protect Hawaii’s Drinking water

#2: People who threaten Hawaii’s drinking water should be stopped and held responsible
for cleanup
#3: Pollution is harmful to the environment and to humans

Point that this Source Proves: # 3 Pollution is harmful to the environment and to humans

Excerpts (These should provide insight into the Point to Prove):

The article starts off explaining that the Navy confirmed that the well that gives the nearby Military housing
community had been contaminated with petroleum and that the water at Red Hill Shaft was 350 times more
contaminated than the state of Hawaii allows

Analysis (How does this source support the Point to Prove?):

The article explains some of the effects to residents from the spill
- initial reports say 93,000 residents affected
- city shut down a nearby well that provides 20% of Honolulu water
- The family in the article is living in a hotel room with her children
- The Navy is paying for the hotel room but family is not receiving the money they need for gas and food
in waikik which is $100 a day
- 748 household and 3000 people had to leave their homes
-

Work Cited (correct MLA format): Hofschneider, Anita. “The Red Hill Water Crisis Has Affected Civilians,
Too. They Want More Help.” Honolulu Civil Beat, 14 Dec. 2021,
https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/12/the-red-hill-water-crisis-has-affected-civilians-too-they-want-more-
help/.

This is a reputable and reliable article because

Civil Beat has been named the best overall news site in Hawaii for the 10th year in a row by the Society of
Professional Journalists Hawaii Chapter. It has become a trusted and unbiased news source
 Research Log #2 - Solutionary Project 2022
Date: 4/10/22
Name: Noah Ambrose
Essential Question: What were the health effects of the Red Hill Spill in 2021 to the citizens

Three Points to Prove: : #1: It is important to protect Hawaii’s Drinking water

#2: People who threaten Hawaii’s drinking water should be stopped and held responsible
for clean up
#3: Pollution is harmful to the environment and to humans

Point that this Source Proves: #3 Pollution is Harmful to the environment and to humans

Excerpts (These should provide insight into the Point to Prove):

The article starts off talking about how a person’s dog got sick ad that was how he figured something was
wrong with the water
Then person then got sick with stomach cramps
Then the daughter was nauseous, and they just kept getting more and more sick

Analysis (How does this source support the Point to Prove?):

The article states how the spill threatened one of Honolulu’s most important water sources in Honolulu
The Navy residents started complaining about a fuel like smell coming from their water
People also had headaches and breathing problems even weeks after stopping to use the water

Work Cited (correct MLA format): “Hundreds of Military Families Sickened by Contaminated Pearl Harbor
Water.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 3 Dec. 2021,
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/03/hawaii-drinking-water-contamination-navy.

This is a reputable and reliable article because founded in 1821 and generally know as a reliable news source
 Research Log #3 - Solutionary Project 2022
Date:
Name:
Essential Question: How can we protect (Hawaii’s) Drinking Water?

Three Points to Prove: #1: It is important to protect Hawaii’s Drinking water

#2: People who threaten Hawaii’s drinking water should be stopped and held responsible
for cleanup
#3: Pollution is harmful to the environment and to humans

Point that this Source Proves: #1: It is important to protect Hawaii’s Drinking water

Excerpts (These should provide insight into the Point to Prove):

The article helps us learn how to protect our water
Learn about source water protection
Take everyday actions
Volunteer in your community
Participate in source water planning at the community level

Analysis (How does this source support the Point to Prove?):

Your local water source has a drinking water quality report
Do not pour hazardous waste like oil, paint cleaners down the drain or spoil them on the ground because these
may seep into our ground water
Try no to use pesticide and poisons in your yard. These can run off into our storm drains and streams
Maintain septic tanks
Do not flush medications down the toilet
Join a beach or stream clean up
Prepare a presentation about your watershed for your school or civic organization
Discuss water quality threats, dangers of pollution run off and highlight actions people can take to protect
water systems such as limiting fertilizer use and properly maintained septic system
Organize a STENCIL program. Stencil a message next to storm drains reminding people not to dump waste
Use images to make a connection: a fish, streams, lakes, groundwater, :protect your water logo
Make fliers and makes to remind your neighbors that storm drains and any pollution in the area can dump
directly into their water
Work with your local water supplier to protect the water sheds

Work Cited (correct MLA format): EPA, Environmental Protection Agency,

https://www.epa.gov/sourcewaterprotection/how-can-you-help-protect-source-water#:~:text=You
 %20can%20work%20within%20your%20community%2C%20watershed%2C%20or,potential
%20sources%20of%20contamination%20in%20the%20protection%20area%3B.

How Can You Help Protect Source Water?

LAST UPDATED ON MARCH 15, 2022

This is a reputable and reliable article because it is the US Environmental Protection Agency which is a federal
agency made to protect the environment

Research Log #4 - Solutionary Project 2022

Date:
Name:
Essential Question: How do we stop the water Crisis at Red Hill?

Three Points to Prove: #1: It is important to protect Hawaii’s Drinking water

#2: People who threaten Hawaii’s drinking water should be stopped and held responsible
for cleanup
#3: Pollution is harmful to the environment and to humans

Point that this Source Proves: #2: People who threaten Hawaii’s drinking water should be stopped and held
responsible for cleanup

Excerpts (These should provide insight into the Point to Prove):

The article’s headline says that the Red Hill Fuel tanks were built during World War II and the Navy has
always claimed that they were secure
But local authorities and groups have thought otherwise and have thought about it as a risk to the public

Analysis (How does this source support the Point to Prove?):

“My fear was that something terrible would happen before people wake up and this comes to their attention,”
Ernie Lau, chief engineer of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, said. 
Then it happened Thanksgiving weekend when military residents started claiming about a fuel smell and
people and pets getting sick
The article states that this news agency has been reporting on problems with the tank as earlier as 2014
The facility is 20 massive tanks that use gravity to deliver fuel to pearl Harbor 2.5 miles away
They sit underground in Halawa with 1o tanks in two rows connected by concrete tunnels and pipelines
It holds 180 million gallons of fuel and is just 100 feet above a groundwater aquifer that supplies 77% of Oahu’s water
The entire system is old, made in a rush in1940, is only ¼” thick and is now corroding
Some areas are not even able to get to to maintain
The facility is extremely important to us security but 73 fuel tanks leaks of 180,000 gallons have happened since 1943
The state dept of health asked the Navy to install a leak detection system in 2008
These alarms rang for a month and were ignored
These same facilities have been removed around the country, but red hill has not
The navy claimed they could keep it safe
But now the water for 400,000 people is now at risk
BWS says there is no barrier to protect our water, and no one knows just how much contamination and where it is and
where it is going
Bws said the once a aquifer is contaminated, there is not much that can be done

Work Cited (correct MLA format):

How The Red Hill Fuel System Has Threatened Oahu’s Drinking Water For Decades  - Honolulu Civil Beat
Christina Jedra 
  
December 12, 2021

This is a reputable and reliable article because

Civil Beat has been named the best overall news site in Hawaii for the 10th year in a row by the Society of
Professional Journalists Hawaii Chapter. It has become a trusted and unbiased news source
 Research Log #5 - Solutionary Project 2022
Date:
Name:
Essential Question: What is groundwater and why should we protect it?
Three Points to Prove#1: It is important to protect Hawaii’s Drinking water
#2: People who threaten Hawaii’s drinking water should be stopped and held responsible
for clean up
#3: Pollution is harmful to the environment and to humans

Point that this Source Proves: #1: It is important to protect Hawaii’s Drinking water

Excerpts (These should provide insight into the Point to Prove):

The article starts off by telling us that ground water is used in many industries and most importantly for
drinking.
Most people use it but have no idea how we get it and what can threaten it

Analysis (How does this source support the Point to Prove?):

In the 1970s and 80s guidelines were set by the EPA to protect our groundwater in response to many people
getting sick by contaminated water
Each state tried to understand the occurrence and flow of their ground water and sets guidelines to protect it
Some basic terms
Ground Water -  is a term that refers to the water occurring below ground in zones where open space is
saturated or filled with water.
Aquifer- Any zone that allows the movement of water and can supply a usable quantity of water to a
well or spring. An aquifer can be composed of loose sediment or cemented rock. In aquifers composed
of sands and gravel, water flows through the openings between the grains, whereas in cemented
aquifers, water can only flow through an available network of connected fractures or cracks in the
rock. Aquifers are replenished by infiltrating rainfall or surface streams that can penetrate overlying
soils
The water table (ground-water surface ) in an aquifer rises in response to recharge from rainfall and
streams, and falls in response to drought, pumping conditions, or other withdrawals. Any changes that
occur in the elevation of the water table reflect a net recharge to or discharge from the aquifer.
Work Cited (correct MLA format):
Ground-Water Quality Protection: Why It's Important To You (usgs.gov)

This is a reputable and reliable article because it is published on a us.gov site

Research Log #6 - Solutionary Project 2022

Date:
Name:
Essential Question: What needs to be done to ensure that the Red Hill Fuel Tanks never threaten Hawaii’s
water again

Three Points to Prove: #1: It is important to protect Hawaii’s Drinking water

#2: People who threaten Hawaii’s drinking water should be stopped and held responsible
for clean up
#3: Pollution is harmful to the environment and to humans

Point that this Source Proves: #: #2: People who threaten Hawaii’s drinking water should be stopped and held
responsible for cleanup

Excerpts (These should provide insight into the Point to Prove):

The article starts by saying that we really do not have the information necessary to fully understand if other
wells could be at risk
Dispute years of threats from these fuel tanks, we still lack knowledge damage there has been, when, where

Analysis (How does this source support the Point to Prove?):

The article explains that there is a new sense of urgency now that people have been proven to have gotten sick
from these spills.
These events have given more need to understand what needs to be done to fix this environmental threat and
understand where are the contaminants?
“Are they just under Red Hill, or are they somewhere else?” asked Clifford Voss, a hydrologist with the
University of Hawaii Water Resources Research Center.  He explains that without the critical information that
they really do not know what to do
Understanding the flow of the groundwater in this area is top of mind for all agencies involved.
The article explains that the terrain underground is so unique and difficult to understand and that the UH is
seeking funds from the Navy to study it.
What is complicating everything is that the recent slip is now mixing with A 2014 spill

No one is agreeing where the groundwater is heading

The navy says it flows from Red Hill to Pearl Harbor but others disagree
Because they disagree, the board of water supply is unable to feel confident to reopen the halawa shaft that they
closed
The (BWS)Board of Water Supply has asked the citizens to conserve water
The Navy was asked to study the groundwater flow after the 2014 spill and presented their findings in 2020 but
others say it was wrong
The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) stated that the Navy’s report had too many errors and was
impossible.
The Navy claimed that they could contain the spill if it happened
BWS did not think so so it turned off the Halawa pump
No one knows if fuel degrades also and how long
To get answers, scientists will need to drill “observation wells” into the water table, collect data and
map the contamination — an expensive and difficult process, UH’s Voss said. “There ain’t an easy
way,” he said.
Voss also explained, If the contamination has not spread it could be sealed
If it has, the water would need to be filtered

Work Cited (correct MLA format):

Where Is The Red Hill Contamination Moving? Experts Are 'Working Blind' - Honolulu Civil Beat

This is a reputable and reliable article because

Civil Beat has been named the best overall news site in Hawaii for the 10th year in a row by the Society of
Professional Journalists Hawaii Chapter. It has become a trusted and unbiased news source