Rain leads to brown-water advisory; more showers predicted

Islandwide rains triggered a brown-water advisory Tuesday as the county prepared for the possibility of more showers later in the week.

During a 24-hour period ending at 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, the Puu Kukui gauge recorded 4.47 inches of rain, the most countywide. In West Maui, the Mahinahina gauge recorded 3.63 inches, followed by 2.9 inches at the Wailuku gauge, 2.32 inches at the Kepuni gauge, 2.15 inches at the Waikapu Country Club gauge and 2.07 inches at the Kula 1 gauge. All but five Maui island gauges recorded at least an inch of rain.

On Molokai, the Molokai 1 gauge recorded 3.91 inches, while the Kaunakakai Mauka gauge hit 2.17 inches. Lanai City recorded 2.12 inches.

Kaupo resident Le'anani Domen said she was driving along Piilani Highway at about 11:30 p.m. Monday when she encountered a stream of debris and muddied water flowing across the road at the Pahihi washout, about 45 minutes from Kula. She and Kipahulu resident Sam Akoi decided not to take any chances and waited half an hour while the water receded.

"We know that the water is not going to be flowing for too long because it's such a big and wide washout," said Domen, whose parents own the Kaupo General Store. "And we could already tell that most of the water had already come down, because there was already mud and soot that was on the road."

Domen estimated that the water flowing across the highway was about 3 feet deep. By midnight, the water had gone down enough for her and Akoi to safely drive across the road.

"It wasn't flowing too heavy," she said. "We decided to just wait and see if it was going to get stronger again or if it was going to subside, and we were able to pass through."

Domen said the general store wasn't flooded and was open for normal business hours Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Fire Services Chief Ed Taomoto said that emergency crews responded to one call for flooding in West Maui at about 6:30 p.m. Monday. Residents at a home on Mahinahina Street that was lower than the roadway reported water rising in their garage.

"We just opened up blocked drains and it started going back down," Taomoto said. "It didn't enter the house. Just a couple inches in the garage."

Evan Ketter, property manager for the parking garage at the 505 Front Street shopping complex in Lahaina, confirmed Tuesday that the garage had flooded but said there was no damage to the structure or cars. He said it would be usable by the end of the day.

The heavy rains prompted flood advisories for Maui County on Monday night, though there were no active warnings or watches for the county Tuesday evening aside from the brown-water advisory. The public is advised to stay out of floodwaters and stormwater runoff due to possible overflowing cesspools, possible fecal matter, dead animals, pathogens, chemicals and debris. Not all coastal areas may be impacted by runoff; however, if the water is brown, the public is advised to stay out.

Gavin Shigesato, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Honolulu, said lingering moisture and a front that's "kind of just hanging out" over Maui caused Monday's rainfall. He said another disturbance moving across the western end of the state could cause more showers later this week.

Maui is expected to be cloudy today with showers likely in the afternoon for the windward and leeward sides, Shigesato said. The majority of the week will likely be cloudy, with a higher chance of rain today and Thursday.

While Tuesday was fairly dry countywide, "the atmosphere is still very moist in general for the whole week, so we can't count out sporadic areas of rain," Shigesato said.

* Colleen Uechi can be reached at cuechi@mauinews.com.