Council Bills and Resolutions Text

BE IT ORDAINED by the People of the City and County of Honolulu:

    SECTION 1. Since ancient times, Hawaiians have treasured water as the spiritual fount of all life and as a precious resource that must be preserved for the benefit of all. The council finds that Oahu’s drinking water is a vital necessity of life and should be maintained free of any chemical additives, except those necessary to make it safe and potable for human consumption. Drinking water should not be used as a means for delivery of chemicals for medical or dental purposes when other alternatives are available. The purpose of this ordinance is to prohibit the introduction of unnecessary chemical additives, considered to be medication, into Oahu’s drinking water supply.

    Using the drinking water system for delivery of chemical additives for medication purpose is neither cost effective nor environmentally sound since more than 99 percent of the chemicals are not ingested and will be discharged into the environment when washing cars, watering yards, flushing toilets, etc., thereby wasting tax dollars.

    It should not be the role of government to override an individual’s freedom of choice, or right to informed consent, or compel individuals to purchase purified water to protect their own health or have peace of mind. Article XI, Section 9, of the Hawaii State Constitution guarantees the individual’s right to a clean and healthy environment.

    SECTION 2. Chapter 30, Revised Ordinances of Honolulu 1990, is amended by adding a new Article to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

    No person shall add any product, substance, or chemical to the public water supply, except federally-owned and operated water systems, such as military facilities, for the purpose of treating or affecting the physical or mental functions of the body of any person, rather than to make the water safe or potable. This prohibition shall not apply to water treatment chemicals used to make the water potable and safe to drink, such as chlorination and anti-corrosion chemical to reduce lead.

Sec. 30-__.2    Product safety.

    Should any state law mandate using the drinking water system to dispense medication for treating the physical or mental function of a person’s body, the chemical additive used shall meet the following quality control and safety requirements:

(1)    All purchases of the chemical additive shall be pharmaceutical grade or equivalent. Industrial grade chemical shall not be used.

(2)    The chemical additive shall not contain any contaminants which would exceed the maximum contaminant level goals established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

(3)    The chemical additive shall not increase corrosion of the water piping system material components or increase leaching of heavy metals such that another chemical additive will be required to minimize corrosion.

(4)    Since any chemical additive will be entering the food chain and be ingested into persons’ bodies, it shall be tested and approved for safety and effectiveness by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. At a minimum, safety testing shall include the following: