Wayne’s World: Walk for Our Wai, Walk for Our Future: June 20, 2026
By Wayne Tanaka | Reading time: 2min
In December 2022, less than two weeks after a 1,300 gallon spill of PFAS-based fire fighting foam concentrate from the Red Hill facility, nearly 2,000 Hawaiʻi residents from all walks of life took part in a massive “Walk for Wai.” Participants marched over three miles from Keʻehi Lagoon Beach Park to the Navy Facilities Command (NAVFAC) headquarters, demanding an immediate end to the existential threat posed by the Red Hill Facility to Oʻahu’s precious sole source drinking water aquifer.
As organizer Healani Sonoda-Pale observed, “With these forever chemicals – this is a new ballgame . . . [the U.S. military has] totally contaminated water sources at hundreds of military bases across the world – from Okinawa to Guåhan (Guam) to Camp Lejeune, the list goes on – and we can’t let that happen here. This is our home, we have nowhere else to go.”
While the facility has since been defueled and ordered shut down, serious concerns remain regarding its future closure, ongoing and future health impacts to residents exposed to jet fuel in their drinking water, and the current lack of remediation strategies that can truly heal Oʻahu’s ʻāina and wai - meaning multiple future generations may have to inherit a once-pure water source that was contaminated on our watch. Meanwhile, government agencies have begun to revert to their past practice of appeasing the Department of Defense, allowing the Navy to renege on its community commitments, and downplaying or ignoring community questions and concerns.
Accordingly, community organizers are planning a second Walk For Wai, to remind our decisionmakers and all of Hawaiʻi that the Red Hill water crisis is not over yet - and that our water security and the very future of our island depends on our ability to continue holding our government accountable.
Please consider joining this effort, and supporting the fight to defend and heal our island not just for ourselves, but for the generations to come:
The “Walk For Wai 2” will take place on June 20, 2026, beginning at 9 a.m. at Ala Moana Beach Park and ending with a peaceful rally at the Kapiʻolani Park Bandstand (trolleys will be available from 7:45 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. to transport walkers from Kapiʻolani Park to Ala Moana).
The post-walk rally will feature musicians including Liko Martin, Kuʻulei Keawekane, and Punahele, and speakers including Joyce Lin with the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, “Big Al” Medeiros and Malia Marquez, Laulani Teale, Kainoa Azama, Red Hill CRI Chair Susan Gorman Chang, and myself. Be sure to follow @oahuwaterprotectors and @justice4aina for more updates and details - hope to see you there!
Red Hill Walk for Wai 2
June 20, 2026 at 9 a.m.
Ala Moana Beach Park to Kapiʻolani Park Bandstand (trolley shuttles to Ala Moana available from 7:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. at Kapiʻolani Park Bandstand).
Peaceful Rally at Kapiʻolani Park with speakers and music to follow.
E Ola i ka Wai,
Wayne