KAILUA-KONA — Water usage restrictions applied to all of North Kona banning residential irrigation and the recreational washing of boats and vehicles will persist for at least two more months.
DWS issued the mandates just over a week ago, informing all North Kona accounts that water use is to be limited to the purposes of drinking, cooking and hygiene only. The Hawaii County Department of Water Supply confirmed in an email to West Hawaii Today on Sunday that the restrictions would persist for at least two more months.
Commercial watercraft can be washed in the harbors, but DWS asks mariners to limit said washing to 15 minutes. Agricultural and construction operations, as well as other businesses reliant on water usage, are asked to use water within reason and employ best practices.
DWS has warned that if there isn’t widespread community cooperation, water service to specific areas may be disrupted to ensure minimal water service to all customers. Mauka areas are likely to be hit first and hardest in the event of strategic disruptions.
The restrictions were ratcheted up from the standard 25 percent water usage reduction that’s been in place for most of the 2017 calendar year after plans to bring the recently downed Honokohau Deepwell back online today were dashed by yet another premature equipment failure — this time a defective motor.
Keith Okamoto, manager and chief engineer at DWS, confirmed in an email to WHT Sunday that the motor, which was diverted from its intend-ed insta-llation site in Waimea along with the accompanying pump, had never been used. The precise problem has yet to be identified, but a technician informed DWS the motor would likely fail if installed.
“We’re looking at options, but don’t have anything with an immediate turnaround,” Okamoto wrote regarding the timeline for Honokohau’s potential return to service. “At this time, it appears all options will take at least (two) months.”
“This means the current water restrictions will remain until we can get either Palani or Hualalai operational,” he added.
Palani and Hualalai deepwells are scheduled to return to service in October and November. Both water sources, considered anchor wells along with Honokohau because of their high storage capacities and ability to pump water throughout the entirety of the system via their physical locations, fell victim to premature pump and motor failures last year.
It is the latest in a long string of such incidents that have contributed substantially to the region’s protracted water crisis.
The department is flummoxed as to the cause or causes behind the rash of equipment failures, and has been unable to provide any concrete answers as of yet.
Generally, different manufacturers have built the parts and issues have varied from one equipment failure to the next. Thus, DWS has struggled to find a common thread.
Mayor Harry Kim said he even broached the topic of potential sabotage in a meeting on the morning of Aug. 13, the day Honokohau went down and brought the number of inoperative wells in the 13-well North Kona system back up to five.
At this point, Kim said sabotage has been ruled out.
The lengthy and worsening water crisis has inspired public frustration, community forums and was the impetus for a County Council meeting in mid-July.
Several North Kona residents have taken to social media to decry DWS management, noting that adequate spares haven’t been stocked.
DWS has previously explained that warranties on such equipment last only one year and for budgetary purposes spares weren’t frequently purchased. The department has begun the process of ordering back-ups for crucial wells, including Honokohau.
Okamoto has the authority to bypass the bid process to expedite the process, which he said in an interview with WHT last week that he has done.
But in the meantime, users in North Kona are reacting to the situation with increasing impatience and dismay.
“Great, goodbye landscaping for a great many homes and businesses,” John Emerson posted on a WHT story about the failure of equipment at Honokohau and the subsequent extension of water restrictions. “Imagine (if) we have the further bad luck of another pump failure and it becomes national news, great for tourism when (there’s only) water every other day.”
Renee Schofield called for governmental intervention.
“I think it is time for an audit of that department,” she wrote. “That may lead to some painful conversations, employment changes and financial eye opening. But it should set the department on a transparent path for the future. I would think as tax payers that should be demanded.”