Navy blames Hawaii water contamination on jet fuel spill

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER and MARK THIESSEN

HONOLULU (AP) — Navy officials say they believe that contaminated tap water that went to Hawaii military households came from a one-time spill of jet fuel last month. The officials told Hawaii lawmakers on Friday they do not believe the cause was a leak from aging underground fuel storage tanks above an aquifer, Rear Adm. Blake Converse says are very confident that the contamination happened on Nov. 20, when 14,000 gallons of jet fuel spilled at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility inside an access tunnel that provides fire suppression and service lines for the complex. The complex supplies fuel for military planes and ships that patrol the Pacific Ocean.