Concerns raised over quality
of Village Park water in past

By Harold Morse
Star-Bulletin

Water quality in Central Oahu, particularly birth defect-plagued Village Park, was aired last night as Board of Water Supply officials and others pledged continued efforts to guarantee safe drinking water.

But some skeptics remained upset over possible harmful pesticide contamination in the past from use of chemicals in nearby pineapple fields.

About 50 residents crowded into a Wahiawa Library meeting room as a nine-member panel made presentations and answered questions, not always to the satisfaction of those asking them.

Wendy Wiltse, environmental protection specialist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said Congress amended the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1996 to assure communities of information on water sources.

"The public has a right to know what's in their environment, including their drinking water," she said.

Edward L. Masry, senior partner in the California law firm Masry and Vititoe now surveying 2,000 Village Park households for evidence of ill health possibly linked to contaminated water, acknowledged it appears drinking water there now is safe.

"What I'm concerned about is what happened in the past," he said.

Some irate residents wanted to know when it was known contaminants were on hand and what was done about them.

Panelists could provide no clear-cut answers.

Gary Gill, state deputy health director, said the 1999 Legislature allocated almost $250,000 to test soil samples for toxic residue from pesticides that might still linger in the Village Park area.

Denise DeCosta, community relations specialist for the Board of Water Supply, said the board has 172 wells on Oahu, four shafts and 18 tunnels, and that it and the state Health Department conduct thousands of tests each year to guarantee safe drinking water. The common denominator for specific health hazards may not be water but other things, she added.

Conrad Willy of Salt Lake said the cleanup under way now seems to have come after pesticide use.

He wanted to know why these chemicals were permitted to be used in the first place. In most cases, harmful effects of these materials were not known earlier, officials said. The unfavorable results were revealed some years later.

Henry Curtis, Life of the Land executive director, said that the organization has a long history of protesting use of these chemicals, long before they were banned.

Gill said the state is committed to resolving every legitimate concern it can identify.

"We're interested in getting information and getting help for the people who may or may not have been affected," said City Councilwoman Rene Mansho.

"We want you to feel confident that this water is safe," said Clifford Jamile, Board of Water Supply manager and chief engineer. "The commitment on our part is that if we find something that shouldn't be there we're going to take it out."