Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID HI-2025-Bremer

Assessment of the long-term socio-economic, health, and institutional trust implications of the Red Hill Jet Fuel Spill

Institute: Hawaii
Year Established: 2025 Start Date: 2026-01-01 End Date: 2026-12-31
Total Federal Funds: $40,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $40,001

Principal Investigators: Leah Bremer

Project Summary: On November 20, 2021, the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility leaked ~ 19,000 gallons of jet fuel into the Pearl Harbor aquifer, the primary source of O?ahu's drinking water. As a result, approximately 93,000 people on the Navy water line were potentially exposed to jet fuel for at least 10 days. This project seeks to understand the social, economic, health, and institutional trust impacts of the Red Hill water contamination. Our research will employ a combination of quantitative methods, including surveys, and qualitative approaches, including interviews. By using a comprehensive set of metrics on the health and wellbeing impacts and perceptions on community and institutional response, we will provide invaluable information to stakeholders and decision makers across sectors for the management of this and future water contamination disasters. In the process, this work, importantly, elevates the voices of community members most directly impacted by this crisis.