We write today not as an activist, a legislator, a government representative or an environmental organization. We write to you today as fathers of young children. Our intent is not to be alarmist, obfuscatory or divisive.
We wish to present facts that will inform your opinion about the future of water quality on the island that is important to our families. To allow a landfill site at the city’s proposed location — above a drinking water aquifer — would be a grotesque failure of our kuleana to future generations. The miraculous yet finite supply of pure, fresh water that our islands are blessed with must be protected at all costs.
>> The proposed Wahiawa site is above an aquifer that provides drinking water to the North Shore, and is critical to meeting Oahu’s future needs. >> Plantation-era pesticides found in groundwater at similar locations demonstrate how toxic substances can percolate hundreds of feet into the earth and into our aquifers over time. >> Rainwater that falls onto the ash and other waste stored at the landfill would create millions of gallons of “leachate” per year, which must be constantly pumped out and treated.
>> This leachate will contain heavy metals and other hazardous substances not easily broken down through incineration, including cancer-causing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals.” PFAS are so toxic that just two types of PFAS have EPA action levels of 4 parts per trillion in drinking water .
