WAILUKU - Water consumption remained down in all areas of Maui County over the past week, but the light, isolated trade showers did little to relieve drought conditions.

For Maui County farmers and water officials, a larger concern is a forecast that they can expect more of the same even after the start of the normal rainy season in Hawaii.

The national Climate Prediction Center issued a "Seasonal Drought Outlook" statement Oct. 16 predicting that drought conditions in Hawaii will persist through January, except in the Hana-Kipahulu region that has been receiving near-normal rainfall.

For Water Director Jeff Eng, the positive sign was that consumption was down slightly from previous weeks. But Eng also reported that reservoir levels and flows out of the East Maui watershed are continuing to fall.

The water department Friday issued a notice for consumers on the Upper Kula System that they would again be receiving water pumped from the Piiholo Water Treatment Facility, as the department cuts back at the Olinda Water Treatment Facility. The Olinda facility treats water from the Waikamoi and Kahakapao reservoirs.

For consumers, the difference would be that they may notice a slight change in the water quality. The Piiholo treatment plant disinfects with chlorine, while the smaller Olinda plant utilizes chloramines, a disinfectant that does not have a chlorine odor.

For the water department, the difference is higher costs to pump an average of 1.2 million gallons a day to the Upper Kula System.

But the department said it needs to respond to the sharply lower water levels in the reservoirs. The 30-million-gallon Waikamoi Reservoirs are empty, while the 100-mg Kahakapao Reservoir was down to 27.1 million gallons Friday.

The 50-mg Piiholo Reservoir held 39.8 million gallons Friday, but the department was pumping between 1.4 mgd to 3.8 mgd to the Piiholo Reservoir and the Lower Kula System through the week.

"I am happy to report water production demand down in all areas," Eng said in his weekly water use report. "This is good considering we had very little rain during this time. Even normally wet Puu Kukui received only around three inches of rain this past week."

Rainfall totals on the East Maui watershed were even lower, with the West Wailua Iki rain gauge recording less than an inch of rain over the week ended Sunday, while the National Weather Service is forecasting mostly clear skies for Maui County for this week.

A surface trough created instability over Oahu and Kauai, resulting in heavy showers primarily over Oahu's Koolau Range on Friday and Saturday. But the moisture is lifting to the northwest, away from Maui County and the Big Island.

With little rainfall in the watershed, flows in the East Maui Irrigation Co.'s Wailoa Ditch continued to slow from 43.1 mgd Oct. 19 to 24.6 mgd Friday. In addition to providing water for Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. fields, the ditch supplies up to 5 mgd for Upcountry homeowners and farmers.

On the Net:

* Climate Prediction Center: www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov

* USGS rainfall/streamflow data: hi.water.usgs.gov

* Maui County DWS Upcountry water update: mauicounty. gov/index.asp?nid=1085

* Edwin Tanji can be reached at citydesk@mauinews.com.