The widespread power outages in the wake of Hurricane Lala are affecting Hawaiʻi Island’s water infrastructure.
The Hawaiʻi County Department of Water Supply relies on electricity to pump water up from underground aquifers into its tanks and through its system.
Right now, the department is using backup power to maintain water access to large communities and key facilities, like hospitals.
“We do have backup generators, but we don't have enough to replicate HELCO's entire power distribution,” DWS Chief Engineer Keith Okamoto told HPR.
Some communities are facing water shortages while the power is out, including Glenwood, Pāpaʻikou, Pepeʻekeo, Makapala, and parts of North Kona.
Residents in Glenwood are asked to use public spigots in Mountain View and Kurtistown. The department is working on getting a small generator for Makapala and plans to water tankers to Pāpaʻikou, Pepeʻekeo, and North Kona.
Okamoto said water tankers should be stationed at the Pāpaʻikou Gym and the Kulaʻimano Community Center in Pepeʻekeo by Monday evening. The department is still finalizing the logistics to mobilize tankers to North Kona.
Some communities aren’t out of water yet, but their tanks are running low. Okamoto said on Monday that Laupāhoehoe likely had about a day’s worth of water left, and that the department was working to get a generator to that area.
Okamoto also said that the department has been dealing with a rumor that the water in Laupāhoehoe is contaminated.
“That is absolutely not true. Absolutely not true. If there's any potential contamination in any system, we're required by law to communicate that to our customers through various means. So, if there's any such situation, those notices would go out immediately,” he said.
Residents in Pāhala are under a boil water notice, which Okamoto said was issued out of an abundance of caution given the impacts of the storm on that community.
The department is currently conducting precautionary water quality checks on that system and expects results within a few days.
“After that, we'll issue an all clear if we don't see any contaminants in the system,” Okamoto said.
Until the grid is back up and running, residents should limit water use to the essentials — drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene — to avoid straining Hawaiʻi Island’s water resources.
HPR will be providing storm updates on hawaiipublicradio.org as they come in. You can also find updates on Facebook and Instagram.
