"Show Me The Water" Bill:
County Council passes new ordinance Ordinance 3502, the "Show Me The Water Bill", is available for review in PDF format. Click here to go to the County Council's web site to read the Ordinance.Contractors to work on water meters:
Customers will need to clear meter area The Department of Water Supply (DWS) has awarded Pacific Meter Services a contract to upgrade the water meters throughout Maui County. Currently the DWS has approximately 35,000 water meters on Maui and Molokai. They are read via automatic radio-read technology which allows the meter reader to download meter readings to a portable computer device in the vehicle. This technology was installed in the mid-1990's. Pacific Meter Services will be going to each meter box and removing the old transponder (this is the part that reads the meter and sends the signal to the reader) and installing a new updated transponder. They will also be recording the locations of each meter via GPS technology. It should take ten to fifteen minutes per meter. All Pacific Meter employees will be wearing lime green safety style reflective vests with a Pacific Meter logo on the back. All employees will have an ID badge with name and toll free phone number to call with questions. Project Superintendent Carl Walker will be in charge of the project. Any questions can be forwarded to the Pacific Meter office at 877-857-1516. DWS customers are asked to clear any overgrowth or other obstacles around the water meter as Pacific Meter employees will need clear access to the meter. Inaccessible meters may be cleared at the homeowners' expense. The project is budgeted for $3.8 million. The expected completion date for the transponder replacement project is March 2008. Customers with questions may call Assistant Fiscal Officer George Andrade at 270-7302.Drought restrictions cancelled for Upcountry Maui:
Voluntary conservation requested Upcountry On Thursday, December 20, 2007, the Board of Water Supply unanimously agreed to support and recommend that the Department of Water Supply cancel the declaration of drought for Upcountry Maui, and continue the request for a voluntary 10% reduction in water consumption for customers in the Central Maui Water System. The voluntary 10% reduction in water consumption is requested of all customers in Kahului, Wailuku, Waihee, Maalaea, Paia/Kuau, Puunene, Kihei, Wailea, and Makena. The drought Upcountry was declared on June 12, 2007. Non-agricultural customers were required to reduce consumption by 10%; however, agricultural customers were exempt from the restrictions. Customers may check the Upcountry water supply report for updates on supply and demand. The Department of Water Supply would like to thank the Upcountry Maui community for their cooperation during the drought this past summer.Drought declared for Central Maui Water System:
Voluntary 10% water reduction requested On Thursday, August 23, 2007, the Board of Water Supply unanimously agreed to support and recommend that the Department of Water Supply declare a drought effective immediately for the Central Maui Water System. With the declaration of drought, a voluntary 10% reduction in water consumption is requested of all customers in Kahului, Wailuku, Waihee, Maalaea, Paia/Kuau, Puunene, Kihei, Wailea, and Makena. Average daily water production for the Central water system was 28.3 million gallons per day (MGD) for July 2007. Director of Water Supply Jeffrey Eng has targeted 25.5 MGD as the goal for production for the Central system. "With rainfall at Puu Kukui at 41% of normal and the twelve month moving average (for water production) rising, we have to take action to protect our aquifers," said Director Eng. He pointed out that the twelve month moving average was 25.7 in July 2007, up from 24.9 MGD in July 2006. The water sources for the Central system originate in the West Maui Mountains watershed and include the Waihee Aquifer, the Iao Aquifer, and the Iao/Waikapu Ditch. The Board of Water Supply will revisit Central Maui's consumption at its meeting next month, scheduled for September 27, 2007. If the voluntary cutback is not effective in reducing consumption to 25.5 MGD, the Board may recommend that Director Eng take further action to accomplish the department's goal. Free low-flow showerheads and leak detection dye tablets for toilets are available at the DWS Planning Division at the Hokama Building at 59 Kanoa Street in Wailuku. For more information on how to save water, contact the DWS at 244-8550. To report leaks in the water system, please call 270-7633. The Department of Water Supply would like to thank the Central and South Maui community for their cooperation during this difficult time.Updated Upcountry water meter priority list available:
The Upcountry water service combined listing of building permit applications, subdivisions, and water service requests are available for public viewing in two formats - by priority number and by tax map key. The lists, dated February 16, 2007, are subject to change and include applications received as of January 8, 2007. To view the current lists, visit the links below:Phosphates stopped in Upcountry water systemBY PRIORITY NUMBER Adobe Acrobat PDF File (1,237 KB)
BY TMK Adobe Acrobat PDF File (1,250 KB)
NOTE: To save the PDF file to your hard drive, right click on the "download/view here" link above and select "Save Target As..." (for Internet Explorer 5.x users) or "Save Link As..." (for Netscape 4.x users).
The Department of Water Supply stopped the use of phosphates on Monday, June 28th, 2004 in the Upcountry water system. To replace the phosphate, the Department of Water Supply(DWS) implemented a high pH, low alkalinity treatment, using soda ash. The DWS is required by the State Department of Health, Safe Drinking Water Branch, to implement and maintain an approved corrosion control program in order to minimize lead leaching. The pH of the water will be approximately 8.8, not to exceed 9.4. The higher pH should make the water less corrosive. To comply with State requirements, the DWS will also be monitoring nitrification throughout the system, collecting samples from customers' homes to monitor lead levels, measuring pH daily throughout the system and increasing flushing throughout the system. Soda ash is the common name for sodium carbonate (Na2CO3). It is a sodium salt and is alkaline. It is commonly used in water treatment for pH adjustment and for corrosion and scale control. It is NSF/ANSI Standard 60 certified safe for drinking water treatment. Soda ash has been used for many years at the Piiholo Water Treatment Facility in Makawao.DWS stops issuing reservations for water service for Central Maui water system:
Due to the designation of Iao Aquifer by the Commission on Water Resource Management, the Department of Water Supply will no longer be approving reservations for the Central Maui Water system. However, the DWS is continuing to issue meters for customers who are ready for water service immediately. Affected areas include Kahului, Wailuku, Wailea, Kihei, Makena, Waihee, Waiehu, Maalaea, Waikapu, Spreckelsville and Paia. For more information please call the engineering division at 270-7835.Flushing Program to Improve Water Quality Upcountry:
The Department of Water Supply is flushing waterlines in the Upcountry area to improve water quality in its dead-end distribution lines. Flushing the waterlines is an integral part of compliance with the Lead and Copper Rule of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.New rule on Upcountry meter issuance effective October 4, 2002:DWS personnel are flushing in the Kula area daily. Other areas (Haiku, Pukalani, Makawao, etc.) are flushed twice monthly.
Flushing a waterline involves turning on the water at a fire hydrant or standpipe at full force to rid the pipeline of any build-up in the pipe. This process could take up to 20 minutes at any one point. Staff will take samples of the water before and after the flushing to ensure that water delivered to consumers meets the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Customers should contact the Field Operations office at 270-7633 if the water at their tap is discolored.
Chapter 106 of Title 16, entitled "Water Meter Issuance Rule For The Upcountry Water System" was approved by the County Council on September 24, 2002 and is effective October 4, 2002. The purpose of the rule is to provide uniform handling of applications for water service in the Upcountry area. To read the rule, click on the link below:Hawaii Supreme Court Decides Appeal in Waiahole Ditch Case:Water Meter Issuance Rule For The Upcountry Water System
On August 22, 2000, the Supreme Court of Hawaii issued its decision in Supreme Court No. 21309, In the Matter of the Water Use Permit Applications, Petitions for Interim Instream Flow Standard Amendments, and Petitions for Water Reservations for the Waiahole Ditch Combined Contested Case Hearing. This appeal from the Commission on Water Resource Management (Case No. CCH-OA95-1) arises from an extended dispute over the water distributed by the Waiahole Ditch System, a major irrigation infrastructure on the island of Oahu supplying the island's leeward side with water diverted from its windward side. In 1995, this dispute culminated in a contested case hearing before appeallee Commission on Water Resource Management. At the hearing, the Commission on Water Resource Management considered petitions to amend the interim instream flow standards for windward streams affected by the ditch, water use permit applications for various leeward offstream purposes, and water reservation petitions for both instream and offstream uses. The Commission issued its final findings of fact, conclusions of law, decision and order on December 24, 1997. To view the appeal in its entirety, visit the links below:HTML Page
Adobe Acrobat PDF File(All information above courtesy of the Hawaii State Judiciary.)