USS Nimitz

The US Navy and the Marine Corps have a serious water contamination problem. Last December we posted that on the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, over 1,000 military families were forced from their homes and suffered illness by drinking water apparently contaminated by petroleum from Red Hill, a leaking, World War II era, underground fuel storage facility on the base in Oahu, Hawaii. 

Recently, the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was docked at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego due to contamination of the aircraft carrier’s drinking water by jet fuel. The Navy says that at least 5 sailors were sickened after jet fuel leaked into USS Nimitz‘s drinking water. 

Likewise, the Navy is investigating what caused the drinking water aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to become rank and cloudy last month. It is at least the second instance of fouled drinking water on a U.S. carrier in recent weeks.

Reporting by Business Insider says that sailors on US Navy carriers have been drinking and bathing in water contaminated by jet fuel for decades.

Nearly a dozen veterans have reached out to Insider to share that they also came in contact with water contaminated by jet fuel during their service aboard US warships. Insider spoke with a handful of these veterans — sailors and Marines who served aboard aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships — about their experiences. 

These veterans served across four different decades, and all of them said that at some point during their service, they drank or bathed in water contaminated by jet fuel. Some recalled showers that reeked of gasoline and buying flavor packets to try and dilute the fuel taste from their tap water. Some of them said their leaders failed to properly address it, saying that they were told the problem would go away and not to worry about it.

The veterans who spoke to Insider about their service said that they definitely could smell and taste the jet fuel in the water, though it wasn’t always visible. Some said they were told by leadership that jet fuel had gotten in the water. Contaminated water could be found in water fountains, sinks, and showers on the ships, they said, and it was also used to cook the food they ate.

Perhaps the most egregious water contamination problem occurred at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, from 1953 to 1987. During that time, United States Marine Corps (USMC) personnel and families at the base bathed in and ingested tap water contaminated with harmful chemicals at concentrations from 240 to 3400 times current safe levels. An undetermined number of former residents later developed cancer or other ailments, which could be due to contaminated drinking water. Victims claim that USMC leaders concealed knowledge of the problem and did not act properly to resolve it or notify former residents.

In February 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune significantly increased the risk of possibly contracting multiple diseases, though they did not say that the water actually caused any disease. The Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 provides damages for past injuries from Camp Lejeune toxic exposure. It is the first such law that provides compensation to the civilian family members of veterans stationed at the base as well as those who came onto the base for work.