‘This was supposed to be…paradise’ | Military mom on Ford Island leaving Hawaii due to ongoing water contamination at home

By KRISTEN CONSILLIO

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    HONOLULU, Hawaii (KITV) — Amid the Navy’s investigation into the Red Hill water crisis, a military mom is taking the health and safety of her family into her own hands.

Tiffany Overbaugh says she is moving to the mainland next week with her two young children to get away from the water that’s still cloudy to this day in their home on Ford Island.

“It just makes me very angry and it’s not right and it needs to be fixed and it needs to be fixed now,” she said. “To watch my babies suffer, I can’t imagine through the years of having to be exposed like that what some people are experiencing. Trust is gone.”

She said the Navy’s water system poisoned her kids — 1-year-old Brooklyn and 4-year-old Jameson — who are still suffering from the effects.

“My son started having hyperthyroid problems and then my daughter started showing neurological issues is when we decided to get the kids off the island because I was not going to expose them anymore,” Overbaugh said.

And the detrimental effects don’t stop there. Her husband has to stay behind for three years to complete his Naval duties.

The Navy revealed this week exactly how fuel got into the drinking water system serving more than 90,000 residents, blaming a series of missteps and a culture of complacency, lack of leadership and care.

And while the Navy promises to correct its mistakes and restore public trust, for many, it’s way too late.

“It’s a constant cover up,” Overbaugh said. “I don’t have faith. I don’t believe it. A lot of broken promises for many, many years. Empty words that just don’t mean anything really.”

She’s among the hundreds of people affected by the water crisis filing complaints against the Navy for ongoing illnesses.

The Navy still hasn’t released water test results from late last year from the homes of many of the 400 claimants asking for help paying their long-term medical bills.

“They haven’t acknowledged the extent of the harm,” said Kristina Baehr, the attorney representing the claimants. “They say that the health effects were fleeting and that is not true.”

But for Overbaugh, she’s just hoping the toxic exposure doesn’t have lifelong effects and that the island she thought was paradise isn’t ruined forever.

“Like ‘Oh we’re here to save the day.’ And it’s like, ‘Well no, you ruined the day,” she said. “This was supposed to be tropical paradise for many and it is a living hell.”

The Health Department has declared the Navy’s water safe and the Navy said testing is ongoing.

A spokesman declined comment, but said if anyone has concerns the Navy will test the water in their homes.

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