Rains bring relief for Christmas

WAILUKU - Maui County Water Director Jeff Eng got what he wanted for Christmas - a soaking rain in the watersheds that began on Christmas Eve and continued through the weekend to replenish reservoirs and restore stream flows.

He also got another week of low demand, although water use over the week before Christmas increased by 4 million gallons a day over the previous week. Demand still was below the average for December 2007.

While reservoirs were filling and the Wailoa Ditch flow was up, the National Weather Service promised there was more wet weather to come.

Watersheds in East Maui and West Maui still were benefiting from a wet trade wind pushing a blanket of clouds over the windward slopes Saturday. The rainfall was severe enough late Saturday to generate a flood warning for Hana, with reports of landslides along Hana Highway and streams overrunning bridges on the roadway.

The West Wailua Iki rain gauge in the East Maui watershed recorded more than 5 inches of rain as of 7 p.m. Saturday, including nearly 2 inches falling between 5:15 and 6:15 p.m.

Since Wednesday, the rain gauge received more than 10 inches of rain, after having recorded just 5.5 inches over the previous three weeks in December.

Puu Kukui in the West Maui watershed was only damp, with barely a 10th of an inch Saturday morning. But Puu Kukui also recorded more than 10 inches of rain between Wednesday and Saturday as the upper-level low pressure system destabilized the atmosphere around Maui County.

For the Department of Water Supply, the wet weather pushed Upcountry reservoir levels to 152.5 million gallons Friday, 85 percent of the capacity of 180 million gallons. The Wailoa Ditch, which had dwindled to 21.8 million gallons a day Tuesday, was up to 174.4 mgd Friday. The ditch supplies the Upcountry water system, Kula Agricultural Park and Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co., which had delayed plantings for lack of water.

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