[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6627057,"mediaKeyId","2730386-f2cc005c11f58c087f7d6c8dbb694ad4","parentId",2730386,"title","Safe Drinking Water Branch details monitoring, PFAS study, UIC concerns and emergency response support","audioSeconds",1670,"startMs",5800500,"endMs",7471030,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2730386-f2cc005c11f58c087f7d6c8dbb694ad4&start=5800&end=7471","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2730386-f2cc005c11f58c087f7d6c8dbb694ad4/thumbnail_5800500.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6627057/Hawaii/Safe-Drinking-Water-Branch-details-monitoring-PFAS-study-UIC-concerns-and-emergency-response-support","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6627057-32f50200319d6658cca31a2c4f3437c4/orig.mp4?Expires=1770933979&Signature=IxA1oyNlZhncdAEUXUa2kI~iYZS8lt27dB4IY9nQVf5rXfOfQhKE8vBbMDrgK1a6iwg6drO0qriYqz~mrCWDV52kwL4xkl2Ib81Zx0KXjOsWE0cWXEB-3EcSIwyn0dSvPpmt4uGHtktEKClA0M9GdC1Er-kgVzQEFGcyA3oEfV~M85U5-PDtkZ58N3an4glpW67yXqxydJDrWs6IW7H-LdEf26~r6Mu-7T~rdVgD8PPqHjxn3kWzP7IWKxDiYmxXEPkY~P7WzKhxWzH1hpeze0RfxATaR4Jrbenr-ys0BWxky31aaB5-Ua7Mg4OZz8DRg3DRZMLTAiB7k2Gh81apxg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Public Utilities Commission","date","2025-03-21T20:54:10.39Z","article","Department of Health Safe Drinking Water Branch (SDWB) staff summarized the branch's responsibilities and recent work, emphasizing monitoring, sanitary surveys, the statewide PFAS study and underground-injection control oversight.

\"We administer the Safe Drinking Water Act,\" SDWB Branch Chief Dennis Galdencho Lopez told attendees, describing the branch's authority under federal law and its implementation through Hawaii Revised Statutes and Hawai`i Administrative Rules. He said SDWB's program areas include administrative engineering, compliance monitoring and groundwater pollution control.

Monitoring and emergency response were a major focus. Melvin Tokuru, a monitoring-section supervisor, described SDWB's role in emergency sampling and investigations. He recounted SDWB's work in Lahaina after the 2023 wildfire, where the branch helped start drinking-water sampling and trained non-sampling personnel and visiting teams: \"We helped the Department of Water Supply get their sampling program started,\" he said. Tokuru also noted the branch runs a PFAS study that began in 2022 and has expanded beyond its initial sampling list.

Iris Vander Zander, supervisor of the Underground Injection Control (UIC) section, explained the UIC line concept the branch uses in Hawaii to separate disposal seaward of a line from aquifer areas used for potable supply. She described challenges posed by increasing use of reverse osmosis and concentrated brines from treatment and by dry wells that may be proposed above the UIC line.

Wong, the SDWB compliance officer, described data-management and enforcement processes: public water systems must submit monitoring data to SDWB's Safe Drinking Water Information System and the branch issues violations and works with systems to return them to compliance. Wong emphasized the branch's role providing technical assistance and training, including coordinating operator certification and continuing-education opportunities.

SDWB staff reiterated that while national SRF funds are large, the state-level appropriations and awards available to Hawaii are limited and administered through state program channels. Dennis Galdencho Lopez summarized: \"Hawaii's total appropriation with clean water and drinking water SRF programs ... is just under a hundred million,\" and said specific local requests were handled through the state process.

Ending: SDWB presenters invited utilities to use branch contacts and the state laboratory for compliance sampling and to request technical assistance during emergencies and routine sanitary-survey follow-up.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","State Agencies Water Utility Regulation Meeting - Collaboration Meeting (Part 1 of 2)","oneSentenceSummary","Department of Health Safe Drinking Water Branch staff described their regulatory authorities, monitoring programs, PFAS sampling work, underground injection control responsibilities and emergency response actions during the 2023 Lahaina wildfire response.","taxTitle","Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Executive , Hawaii","taxId",26068,"location","Hawaii","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6627061,"PUC-regulated small water systems: operators, aging infrastructure, metering and cybersecurity emerge as top concerns",2889,437360,3327030,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2730386-f2cc005c11f58c087f7d6c8dbb694ad4&start=437&end=3327","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2730386-f2cc005c11f58c087f7d6c8dbb694ad4/thumbnail_437360.jpg","/articles/6627061/Hawaii/PUC-regulated-small-water-systems-operators-aging-infrastructure-metering-and-cybersecurity-emerge-as-top-concerns","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6627061-6f9bfc776f411067a5b10ecfe7d6ac96/orig.mp4?Expires=1770933979&Signature=ja5zQuftgSx2na039PFVuMfVKE6j7GEaEFqY-sJLNfVJTiA2xxZZ8HlR6o9PFLDxstQvWK1e8B~okpNCBd-0lFlmJsPvY0TuLUQ36c8oCzKlrrmNNu0dXleBm0tvGJSjhONkoLSVMYcO9zhcfAXTiC8IRnRaTwkBV4Mkm-n4xHrKHsI8pHktG5rLjECe3yqE2ZFTAmCv9BL9Vuf-u6eQZ-yq90Ghb2G-pgF00~a56AOYp2SedbZMC1wuR6MbZOCB4bbxzJxDBF6S8LksOQy365N-dB2rQdTYclmU4Ga3COiOlJ63x6iXq7xlEmKWdzab58pESfwnCtWA5gPyTOf7cA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Joy Gannon, a representative of the Rural Community Assistance Corporation, gave a detailed overview of PUC-regulated public water systems and common operational issues facing small utilities across Hawaii.

Gannon said many PUC-regulated systems serve communities on island outskirts where counties did not provide public water early in development. \"They're typically in locations where the county did not have a public water system to begin with,\" she said, and noted that on some islands the PUC-regulated population totals are in the low tens of thousands. She described the \"rule of a hundred\" used by operators to explain SDWB's public water system threshold (15 service connections or serving 25 people 60 days a year).

On treatment and distribution, Gannon described common practices and recurring maintenance problems: \"Most of our systems treat with sodium hypochlorite,\" she said, then detailed monitoring and maintenance challenges for chemical feed systems and storage tanks. She illustrated typical best practice levels, saying, \"Best management practice is about 0.2 parts per million of chlorine at the end of the system\" and noted the maximum permissible level is 4 parts per million.

Meters and nonrevenue water were emphasized. Gannon described examples of advanced metering infrastructure and audits: one nonregulated system she cited had installed 89 smart meters; 37 of those showed leaks past the meters totaling about 15,000 gallons per day and the system recorded roughly 19% unaccounted-for water. She said larger utilities including Honolulu Board of Water Supply and counties are using similar technologies and that many PUC systems are starting to adopt them to identify leaks.

Gannon also summarized national operator concerns from the American Water Works Association survey, noting watershed and source protection had become the number-one issue in 2024. She flagged workforce shortages for operators and engineers as a persistent challenge for small systems, and described cybersecurity as an emerging risk after mainland incidents: \"A lot of these systems have SCADA systems, which essentially controls the water system,\" she said, noting the FBI has investigated at least one breach affecting an operator with Hawaii ties.

On conservation and enforcement, Gannon and other speakers said existing rules provide limited tools for aggressive conservation enforcement. Gannon relayed operators' concerns that penalties are often small ($50 per day in many rules) and that utilities fear lawsuits if they shut off service for excessive use, making strong enforcement politically and legally difficult.

Ending: Presenters urged more technical assistance, circuit-rider services and interagency coordination to help small and PUC-regulated systems adopt metering, perform water audits and address operator shortages and cybersecurity vulnerabilities.","RCAC and PUC representatives outlined operational realities for PUC-regulated utilities: small populations, reliance on groundwater, common use of sodium hypochlorite treatment, rising concern about source protection and increasing deployment of smart meters to locate losses.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6627066,"Hawaii regulators convene to coordinate water utility oversight and highlight SRF disaster funding eligibility",6017,2880,6020740,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2730386-f2cc005c11f58c087f7d6c8dbb694ad4&start=2&end=6020","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2730386-f2cc005c11f58c087f7d6c8dbb694ad4/thumbnail_2880.jpg","/articles/6627066/Hawaii/Hawaii-regulators-convene-to-coordinate-water-utility-oversight-and-highlight-SRF-disaster-funding-eligibility","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6627066-9f78b921d37846783757b41d803c0b2d/orig.mp4?Expires=1770933979&Signature=l-29M-MmTrMZZec-xyPR0CQJI8S6QLldn9IZY8YxBo-B~8LCzoofiveiSMtzr8wQZKBeKHRWO0ZAr37VZhstaN3cNeQWzjvz73ScU5CKNSMM6kH5IUkZEEUs2dJmXZz-72NyWNJ6PltkKqRwtWZDOTpS1NMUHElya9KU1Y0ZEQ039JYmdeEWiimKSp25cVGC6em4x~AzgleB6LdRVnb9soBD9PPin3whc1GIyYQnRYGALWihnmdWVSlbmqGjWl5yluDZpRS17cQl3TQ2yFG4BUwWM5ETD8aA8ek5zoy-o~DTab4Ucs~-aAjLjHUysy6cPfIpvQ2t1-WZ9Q0ZRd2WLQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representatives from four state agencies met in a collaboration session to clarify regulatory roles for water utilities and to identify shared priorities, including access to federal disaster relief through the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs.

Joy Gannon, with Rural Community Assistance Corporation, opened the meeting by framing the event as a chance to \"understand the role of each of our state agencies\" and to look for opportunities to reduce overlapping or conflicting actions that could harm constituents. She cited recent policy and operational changes that increase the need for coordination, including new contaminants such as PFAS, public-safety power shutoffs and drought conditions on several islands.

The meeting assembled officials from the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), the Department of Health Safe Drinking Water Branch (SDWB), the Department of Land and Natural Resources Commission on Water Resource Management (CWRM, referred to in the meeting as \"SeaWorm\") and the Consumer Advocate's office. Dennis Galdencho Lopez, branch chief for the Safe Drinking Water Branch, described the SDWB's statutory authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act, implemented in Hawaii through Hawaii Revised Statutes and Hawai`i Administrative Rules, and outlined the branch's responsibilities for operator certification, sanitary surveys and contaminant monitoring.

Funding and disaster relief were a major topic. Gannon identified federal SRF balances, saying the Clean Water SRF had \"a total of 1,230,000,000.00\" and the Drinking Water SRF \"1,770,000,000.00,\" and noted that Hawaii is among seven states eligible for disaster relief funding due to the 2023 wildfire. Dennis Lopez clarified the state-level appropriation: \"Hawaii's appropriation for the recovery is specifically for wildfire\" and, while the nationwide funds are large, \"Hawaii's total appropriation with clean water and drinking water SRF programs ... is just under a hundred million.\" Lopez also said that the Maui Department of Water Supply requested $250 million and received $66 million as part of recovery discussions.

Speakers stressed that collaboration will take time, persistence and funding. Gannon urged a balanced approach across agencies to protect source water, maintain reliable service and ensure economically reasonable rates. Dennis Galdencho Lopez and other SDWB staff outlined how sanitary surveys, monitoring and enforcement fit into that shared effort. The session also included presentations on small-system operations, metering and water audits, and time for questions about emergency generators, cybersecurity and conservation options.

Participants agreed that continued interagency communication and coordinated technical support to small and PUC-regulated systems are priorities going forward, and several presenters said they would make presentation materials available to attendees.

Ending: The meeting moved into working sessions and planned facility visits and follow-up materials; attendees were encouraged to use the contacts provided by SDWB and partner organizations to pursue funding, technical assistance and regulatory clarifications.","Representatives from the Public Utilities Commission, Safe Drinking Water Branch, Commission on Water Resource Management and other agencies met to map roles, discuss small-system vulnerabilities and note Hawaii's eligibility for EPA SRF disaster assistance tied to the 2023 wildfires.","actionData","errors"]

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Safe Drinking Water Branch details monitoring, PFAS study, UIC concerns and emergency response support

PUC-regulated small water systems: operators, aging infrastructure, metering and cybersecurity emerge as top concerns

Hawaii regulators convene to coordinate water utility oversight and highlight SRF disaster funding eligibility