Well could be out for months; Wailuku Heights, Waikapu areas affected

County asks users to conserve water while it seeks repairs

The faulty well that supplies the main tank for the Waikapu area could be out of service for another five months while the county looks for a contractor to fix it, according to the Department of Water Supply.

The well has been out due to mechanical and electrical issues, causing the department to call for customers in the area to conserve water.

"We will need to pull the pump and motor to determine the cause of failure," Water Supply Director Jeff Pearson said via email Monday. "This well supplies the midlevel (tank). We are going out to bid very soon for this repair."

The request for proposals would allow at least 30 days to find a contractor, then another four months to repair the problem, Pearson explained in a follow-up interview Tuesday.

"I'd like to think it could be quicker depending on how fast they could secure the motor and pump and do the installation required," the director said. "That's assuming no glitches."

On June 21, the department began calling for customers in Waikapu, Kehalani Mauka and Wailuku Heights to conserve water and to avoid unnecessary water use until further notice. The department said the notice was due to an unidentified increase in consumption.

On Saturday, the department sent out another notice to customers in the same areas, asking them to immediately halt all unnecessary water use until further notice as the department faces potential water outages in those areas. The department said the Waikapu/Wailuku water tanks were being depleted due to "very high consumption" of water and the temporary loss of Waikapu's well due to mechanical and electrical issues.

Pearson said that water consumption has averaged 200,000 gallons a day more in the month of June as compared to the same time last year. While people could be using more water due to the record-hot summer weather, Pearson said a spike of that magnitude seems to indicate "that there's more than just additional use" going on. He said the department is working to find the cause of the increased consumption and needs to measure flows to determine if and where there's a leak.

"It's a tricky equation and everything's underground," Pearson said.

Pearson said he couldn't say for sure if users would be under a water conservation notice until the Waikapu well is fixed. If the island gets a lot of rain and the weather cools down, people won't have to irrigate and there will be water available. But it's unclear whether the system could catch up during those periods of rain.

As for how long the tanks could last at their current levels, that also depends on day-to-day conditions.

"We're hoping that usage is going to be reduced," Pearson said. "We're also trying to augment water to the tanks where the need is. . . . We're putting in temporary pumps to pump water to the tanks where needed."

The impacted system relies on a series of wells and tanks throughout Wailuku and Waikapu. There's a well and storage tank at the mouth of Iao Valley, two wells and a storage tank in the Mokuhau area, two wells above Puu Kukui Elementary School, and the Waikapu well that is currently out of service. There are also four tanks in Wailuku Heights, a tank by the Hale Makana O Waiale housing complex, and the midlevel tank on Kuikahi Drive that draws from the faulty Waikapu well.

Some tanks may be affected because they need to be pumped to other tanks. Pearson said the main tank is the midlevel one on Kuikahi Drive.

"We run our booster pumps at our Waiale tank, and they cannot keep up," he said. "They cannot significantly keep the tank at higher levels."

Pearson said the Central Maui system is "all interconnected, but even so you can only go so far." The department has wells as far out as Waihee, but some of those wells feed South Maui.

On Saturday, the department said that it was deploying tanker trucks with potable water to Wailuku Heights Park (off South Alu Drive) and Hookahewai Street for use by area customers in the event of service interruption.

To help curb water usage and to avoid potential service interruptions, the department advises the following:

• Do not water your lawn or irrigate ground cover.

• Turn off the water faucet when washing dishes, brushing teeth or shaving.

• Shorten shower time and only partially fill tubs for baths.

• Wash clothes using full loads and proper settings.

• Go to a car wash if needed. Most car washes on Maui are fitted with recirculating water.

• Check in and around homes for leaks.

For questions, call the department's 24-hour hotline at 270-7633.

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