Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Department of Water Supply outlines emergency repairs, spares and communication steps after North Kohala well failures
Summary
DWS told the committee that Holualoa (Hala'ula) and Hawi wells have failed at times this summer, prompting essential-use restrictions, water hauling and use of spare pump-and-motor sets. Officials described repair logistics, spare inventory and planned generator/transfer-switch work to improve resilience.
HILO, Hawaii — The Hawaii County Department of Water Supply told the Communication Reports and Council Oversight Committee on Sept. 2 that recent pump and motor failures in the North Kohala water system have left sections of the community on "essential needs only" water restrictions and required emergency repairs, water hauling and temporary flow restrictions.
DWS Manager Chief Engineer Keith Okamoto acknowledged multiple failures in the North Kohala system, saying Holualoa (Hala'ula) well "went down shortly after being activated" and that the department detected bronze shavings consistent with damage to an impeller or similar components. "Early indications, we saw bronze shavings in some of our control buildings," Okamoto said.
DWS said the North Kohala system serves about 1,917 accounts and roughly 5,200 residents. The department activated emergency procurement, used on-island spare pump-and-motor sets and positioned water "buffalos" to haul water. "We utilized emergency procurement to get a contractor on-site as quickly as possible," Okamoto said. Chief of Operations Greg Goodell said the department kept staff working around the clock to maintain water deliveries while repair crews replaced deep well columns and pumps.
Officials described the cost, logistics and operational constraints of repairs. They said deep well strings run about 830 feet and are assembled from many 18-to-20-foot pipe columns; DWS estimated a replacement pump-and-motor string for wells of this depth may be in the range of $3,400,000. The department said it keeps on-island spares where feasible and is procuring an additional spare for the Holualoa well.
To reduce interruption risk, DWS said it planned to install transfer switches at booster stations and to maintain spare equipment inventory and rental generator options as contingency. The department also said it would keep two spare pump-and-motor sets for the North Kohala system and battery up critical booster sites in prolonged outages.
Council members asked about diagnostics, spare maintenance, and whether the department can predict failures. DWS staff said they conduct forensic tear-downs after failures to determine cause, that spare units are stored crated to avoid corrosion and that the department is exploring improved asset-management metrics and periodic maintenance of stored spares.
The committee closed the file on Communication 445 after the presentation.
What remained unresolved: DWS said it would report back with results of tear-down analyses and noted the need to expand monitoring technologies for downhole equipment; officials said some sensors previously trialed did not reliably survive the downhole environment.
Vote and next steps: The committee agreed to close the file on Communication 445; DWS listed immediate next steps as returning Holualoa to service, procuring spares, installing transfer switches at booster stations and continuing public communication via social media and Everbridge emergency notifications.
