Frustration grows as questions remain unanswered about possible water contamination

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Frustration continues to grow for the families affected, and it is not just those who live in military housing. Nearby schools are also struggling with the problem.

Holy Family Catholic Academy has been forced to go back to virtual learning for the past couple of days. The principal, Celeste Akiu, said it is not clear what will happen for the rest of the week.

Teachers are in the classrooms, but about 350 students have all been told to stay home and learn the day’s lessons from there. Akiu said military crews opened up the fire hydrants in the area for hours to flush them out.

As of midday on Tuesday, Nov. 30, Akiu is not sure what to tell the parents and staff about how long they have to go without running water — which has been frustrating.

“And the children because, as you look in virtually, you see 20 faces looking up at you, and they’re sitting there in their uniforms ready to learn; they’re just trying to learn how to balance with it too,” explained Akiu.

She said staff and parents are a little scared and would like the military to be forthcoming with information.

“We have almost 500 people on campus every day. That’s a lot of people, a lot of lives, a responsibility for all of us, so we just learn how to pivot,” said Akiu.

“We can’t cook, we can’t clean, we can’t do dishes and we can’t shower — nothing — it’s been very difficult,” said Retchel O., a parent at Nimitz Elementary School.

Most of the families in the school live in military housing. The school is getting a steady supply of bottled water, and the military is also providing bottled water to the area residents.

“It runs out quick because there’s so many families living on military bases and providing that. It’s just hard especially with the stores that are around us. I know they’re running low on water earlier; yesterday they were running low and then they had to restock in the afternoon,” Retchel added.

The Department of Education said Red Hill and Pearl Harbor Elementary Schools have also been affected.

In a statement the DOE said, it is “Continuing to modify on-campus food services and sanitization methods… is securing portable water for hand washing and dishwashing, and has obtained additional bottled water.”