The Department of Water Supply has successfully addressed three issues identified in a 2020 audit that found the department lacked sufficient contingency plans to ensure the public had dependable access to water when equipment breaks down, the county auditor told the County Council Finance Committee on Tuesday.
The original audit had been requested by two former council members in response to residents’ concerns after a series of pump failures forced West Hawaii into water conservation cutbacks.
A series of failures led to five of the region’s 14 deepwells going down at the same time. The situation became so dire that Mayor Harry Kim, in September 2017, signed an emergency proclamation suspending rules to allow the county to respond promptly. Still, residents seethed as yards turned brown without the irrigation that living on the dry side of the island requires to maintain its greenery.
As of September of this year, the water department confirmed 12 of the 14 deepwells in North Kona were operable, with the exception of Waiaha Deepwell, which the department was in negotiations over an incomplete repair contract, and Makalei Estates Deepwell, which was awaiting developer redesign and construction of pump and motor that was under warranty,auditors reported in an October followup to the original audit.
Auditors had recommended sufficient detail in department contingency plans, including prioritizing and clearly documenting emergency procedures and emergency contingencies by district. In addition, the plans should describe types and implementation guidance of water usage restrictions and should clearly document communication procedures, auditors said.
Auditor Tyler Benner said the water department implemented two of the recommendations and resolved the third through an alternative solution addressing the auditor’s concerns.
“Their cooperation was exceptional,” Benner said of the water department.
But former Kona resident Steve Holmes, in written testimony, and Hilo resident Cory Harden, testifying via Zoom, said the department should be more proactive.
“What is missing is any plan to reduce demand by working with large water users to install water efficiency retrofits and offer incentives to do so,” Holmes said. “Reducing demand is always cheaper than new well development and preserves sustainable yield. Reducing demand also achieves energy savings while relieving the stress the pumps are under that causes failures.”
“Well pumps are prone to break down because they are sucking on a very long straw to bring water up from great depths, requiring lots of power and more run time,” Harden added. “The county should look at reducing demand by not approving water-intensive uses such as golf courses, and by doing water recycling.”
Benner said the scope of the followup audit was limited to issues addressed in the original audit.
“It looks like the department has been very forthcoming and proactive in developing plans to mitigate emergencies,” noted Puna Councilman Matt Kanealii-Kleinfelder, chairman of the committee.
While the department had noted in response to the original audit that no customer lost a supply of potable water, department Deputy Kawika Uyehara characterized the situation as a learning experience.
“Truly we take this to heart. Our mission is to provide a continuous supply of safe drinking water to our customers,” Uyehara said. “We learned a lot in that time period.”
