KAILUA-KONA — The North Kona water restriction remains in effect, only with one minor change.
Hawaii County Department of Water Supply has mandated that all North Kona customers restrict water use to health and safety purposes of drinking, cooking and hygiene only. Irrigation and washing of vehicles and recreational water crafts has been prohibited.
DWS lightened those restrictions slightly in its most recent press release Thursday, allowing for “limited hand watering of precious plants, on occasion.”
Several members of the community have lamented publicly on social media and in WHT stories, as well as privately to DWS, about the state of residential horticulture in the wake of departmentally imposed cutbacks of water use.
The department’s amended restriction notice is a nod to those concerns, but DWS in its release reminds gardeners and do-it-yourself landscapers to remain frugal in their water use.
The use of sprinklers, either manual or automatic, is still prohibited.
Businesses reliant on substantial amounts of water to conduct operations are still allowed to do so, but must use best practices. For instance, fishermen and boat tour operators are permitted to wash their vessels but must complete such tasks within 15 minutes.
The public has raised questions about golf courses and other large business concerns, inquiring as to why they appear to continue watering at a high rate. Keith Okamoto, manager and chief engineer at DWS, said at a recent community forum in West Hawaii that most of these operations have their own systems and do not draw on county water.
DWS continues to monitor high-use accounts and is in the process of installing flow restrictors on several customers not abiding with water restrictions. Some restrictors have already been installed.
In its release, DWS notes that customers with questions about “unique situations” requiring extra water use contact the department to discuss options.
Those who wish to report wasteful water use may call DWS at 961-8790.