KAILUA-KONA — The Ironman World Championship, the thousands of visitors it brings and a water shortage at the heart of the action in North Kona during one of the hottest times of the year appears a volatile and potentially dangerous mix.
But it might not be so bad as it seems.
North Kona is in the midst of its worst water supply crisis in decades, as five of 13 wells in the region sit idle, rendered impotent by a rash of yet unexplained equipment malfunctions.
A water restriction — the most stringent of its kind to date, which mandates residents consume water only for the purposes of drinking, cooking and hygiene — remains in effect.
Hawaii County Department of Water Supply has ordered the public to cease the washing of all vehicles and marine vessels, with the exception of 15-minute washes of boats used for business purposes, and has also halted all all noncommercial irrigation, save for minimal hand watering of “precious plants.”
Now, more than two and a half weeks into the restriction, however, no customer in North Kona has lost water service or even had it interrupted. And it isn’t as though tourism has just stopped. Visitors and faucets, alike, continue to flow.
More encouraging, DWS Manager and Chief Engineer Keith Okamoto said Ironman doesn’t historically cause a spike in water consumption.
“… (A) review of historical data during the months of September and October doesn’t show a significant change in water use compared to other months,” Okamoto wrote in an email to WHT Wednesday.
Ross Birch, executive director of the Island of Hawaii Visitors Bureau, said that’s in line with what he knows about the stream of tourists flowing annually into West Hawaii for Ironman.
Around 2,300 athletes, their families, spectators, sponsors and volunteers pour into the area every year for the event. Birch estimated the number could be in the neighborhood of 15,000 extra bodies to keep hydrated and clean.
But Ironman boosts tourism during a portion of the year when it is traditionally otherwise down.
“If we have a busy year, we would have very close to similar numbers (as those we see with Ironman) almost on a regular basis throughout the year,” Birch explained. “So we’re not going to see a huge spike specifically with Ironman.”
More than that, the Ironman entourage spreads into South Kohala and South Kona, distributing the extra people, as well as the strain on the water system, to a meaningful degree. Birch said about 60-65 percent of the total Ironman group will stay in areas affected by the water availability shortage.
Okamoto attempted to placate public concern further by explaining there’s a good chance at least one well, if not more, will have returned to service by the time the race commences.
DWS has received the pump for the Hualalai Deep Well and will begin installation immediately, according to a release from Hawaii County Civil Defense Thursday afternoon.
The Honokohau Deep Well failed Aug. 13, but DWS had retained hopes of bringing the crucial water source back online within roughly a week’s time.
However, the department discovered five days after the failure on Aug. 18 that a deep well motor diverted from Waimea and meant to serve as a spare at Honokohau was defective.
Okamoto said since that development, the county’s main priorities have been to bring wells at Hualalai and Palani back online as quickly as possible. Hualalai’s original repair completion date was scheduled for Nov. 26, while Palani was set tor return to service by Oct. 30.
DWS believes it can bring both wells back online before the gun sounds at Ironman, Okamoto said.
“Based on the latest information from the contractor, manufacturers and shipping agents, we are hopeful that these two well repairs will be completed before October 14” he explained.
That is the date of the Ironman World Championship.
It’s unlikely, however, that bringing wells online around that day would actually make much of a difference where Ironman and Kona’s increased water consumption are concerned.
Birch explained that the arrival of visitors for Ironman follows a pattern of gradual rise. Most stay for between five days and three weeks, and almost all of that time spent on island precedes the race rather than follows it.
“There’s a major exodus on Monday morning,” Birch said.
DWS does have an outside chance to bring a well back online before Hualalai or Palani. The department is pursuing a mainland-based repair for Honokohau’s defective motor. If the repair is possible, DWS might be able to get Honokohau up and running by the middle of September.
The department expected to learn Thursday whether the motor could be repaired in that time frame, but DWS did not respond to a request for comment by press time Thursday evening.
Regardless of the outcome of any of the three well repair efforts, Okamoto and Birch were confident the strain on the water system won’t be significantly different during Ironman than it would at any other time, including the two and a half weeks already past since North Kona’s fifth well took a nose dive.
To be safe, DWS and the Big Island Visitor’s Bureau are coordinating an information campaign similar to the one last year involving the dengue outbreak in West Hawaii.
They are providing a list of bureau lodging partners large and small with information about the water shortage to be dispersed to visitors upon arrival.
For those still concerned about how Ironman might impact the vegetation around their homes, Hawaii County Department of Environmental Management sent out a release Thursday announcing it had temporarily suspended mulch loading fees at the Kealakehe Transfer Station.
Fees, which typically range from $9-18, will be set aside until Oct. 31, although that date could change depending on need.
The idea is to promote mulching instead of watering residential landscapes to keep greenery healthy while water issues are sorted out. Mulch aids in water retention and is also a source of nutrients.